Wings of Fire: Missed (The Turning Tides, book 1)
by acornerika
Summary: It's the 40th Winter-Spring celebrations and all the tribal queens have been invited to the rainforest to celebrate. Gelid, as bodyguard and servant to Queen Blizzard, knows its a recipe for disaster. Her worst fears come true as the celebrations are attacked. Queen Blizzard's past comes back to kill her, tribes are on the brink of war and...The Talons of Power are back.
1. Prologue

**EDIT* A/N: I just need to quickly say do NOT READ this if you haven't read books 1-10 otherwise some parts will spoil some parts of the main series and might make you confused!**

Two dragons fly high over the sky, entering the hot dry desert winds facing the orange line of the horizon. One full moon illuminated in the sky, bringing the stars to shame.

Mist hated the desert. Don't get her wrong - she liked the sandwings, Queen Thorn was a nice dragon to be around, but it was just the sand and the heat that was unbearable. Both the heat and sand roasted and scratched her scales, and they left an annoying itch that she swore turned her scales red with irritation. Or maybe that was just her red scales reflecting her anger.

The rainforest was better, she preferred it. Her scales weren't constantly on fire, and the colours soothed her sight and mind. And the birds, gosh the birds! They were all so beautiful, and their songs were serene.

She looked up to the dragon above her, an icewing, her father, Prince North. He eyed the pale sandy horizon fiercely with his black eyes. Everyone always said she had her father's eyes, which was hard to argue with.

They were travelling back to the Kingdom of Ice from the rainforest after realigning their alliance and friendship with the rainwings. That part always left her scales red. Mist thought that her aunt, Queen Blizzard used Mist and her father - the Queen's brother, to do these kind of things that involved the rainwings because of her half-rainwing heritage. She couldn't argue with her queen, though, as much as she wanted to, and Queen Glory was always happy to see her.

Her father swooped down beside her, and she felt the coldness of his pale blue wing hit her back, it felt better than the desert heat at least. He flicked his head at her and looked at her face, before trailing his gaze down the side of her body. Mist watched him in the corner of her eye.

"You're silent." Said North, looking at her.

Mist closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on her scales. _Don't show, don't you dare show_ , she thought. The one thing she hated about rainwing scales was that they changed with her emotions, especially if they strong, which was very, very often. Plus, her father knew exactly how to read her and her scales.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked.

Mist sighed, looking at him. "No, I'm not mad at you, I can't ever be mad at you." She reminded herself of the story her father always told her about how he met a rainwing, her mother, that faithful day of going to the rainforest for the first time.

Her mother's name was Hibuscus, and she was a healer for Queen Glory. He always said that her ever changing scales was captivating, but it was mostly how she spoke to him with such openness and happiness that melted his heart. Ugh. That part always found a way to give Mist a headache. Queen Blizzard didn't mind the interaction, of course, not that she had much control over her own brother's love life.

Her father always loved her mother, always, Mist could always tell by the way he spoke about her and the way he would smile at the sky whenever he reminisced. And he loved Mist, too, well, she hoped that was true.

Mist sighed again, though softly and at herself. Her mother died to a dragonbite viper when Mist was almost one year old, leaving her father to take care of her.

So no, Mist could never be mad at her father.

"I just hate these diplomacy missions Queen Blizzard sends us on." _And travelling through the desert_ , she thought. She wished they could've just taken the tunnel created by a nightwing animus, but with the constant reports of sandwings from the Talons of Power ambushing travellers through the tunnels, they just couldn't risk it. Queen Thorn always sent dragons to go find them, but the dragons either turned up with nothing or not at all, most likely dead or convinced to join the Talons of Power.

"I just feel that Queen Blizzard is using us to secure our relationship with the rainwings," Mist explained. "I know she's your sister but still...it just doesn't feel right."

"I know what you're thinking, but she's not using us. I've known her since I hatched, she's not that kind of dragon," He looked at the horizon. "She just knows that you like the rainforest. Plus-"he smiled at her-"you know Queen Glory likes to throw a nice dinner for us and chat together. And Princess Firefly certainly enjoys your company."

 _That's true_. Princess Firefly was a hybrid, just like her, and a princess, which was a bonus, so she knew exactly what Mist felt being both a hybrid and of royal blood. Princess Firefly was a rainwing and nightwing hybrid, which was surprisingly appropriate because Queen Glory ruled both the rainwings and nightwings in the rainforest.

That left Mist content and silently happy as she flew. Her father must've noticed her scales and stayed silent, knowing that he positively changed his daughter's emotions.

Though, a thought rattled her mind. "Did you know that Princess Firefly is going to challenge Queen Glory for the throne soon?" Mist asked, peering curiously at her father.

"No. Queen Glory doesn't know otherwise she would've slipped it to me. Did she tell you?" He asked.

"Yes, and I watched her scales turn yellow and purple and blue and back to yellow again. She's nervous, but also excited." Mist described.

Princess Firefly was a bundle of joy, always full of energy, yet also mature and grounded when she needed to be. She mostly looked like a rainwing but the bottom half of her legs and tail were always black, matching the colour of her father, King Deathbringer's scales.

Mist regularly thought of contending for the throne of the Icewings because she was the niece of Queen Blizzard and eligible for the throne. But then she thought of the responsibilities, and having to care for the ENTIRE kingdom, not to mention maintaining peace with the tribes and whatnot. It sounded so time-consuming and frustrating. She'd rather fly in the open sky or in the rainforest.

Her father seemed okay with the fact that she didn't want the throne, especially with the chance that she may lose and die. Just like how Princess Firefly might too, that's if they do it the way every other tribe does it: a fight to the death for the throne.

Not wishing to dwell on that, Mist stayed silent for the remainder of the flight, watching the orange line of the horizon slowly faded and left them. The desert heat was swept away, breathing dry but cool air onto her scales. That felt much better.

Her father stopped in the air and hovered all of a sudden in front of her. He waved a hand of talons at her, signalling her to stop. Mist hovered, beating her wings silently in the night.

"What is it? What do you see?" Mist asked in a whisper. Her father had his head turned away and at the ground. She followed his line of sight but saw nothing but the pale sands below. No...there was something. Something that matched the same pale colour of the desert moved and stirred.

 _Sandwings..._ Mist thought. She watched them, trying to focus her eyes on what they look like. Maybe they were sandwings she'd met before on her trips to Queen Thorn's palace. But they had something behind them or following them, something black.

"Talons of Power," Her father realised.

"Talons of Power..." She echoed, realising that the sandwings were wearing black drapes, a symbol of the Talons of Power. "They can't see us, surely...right?"

Her father didn't answer but instead paused and hovered in the air of her.

"They spotted us." He said, turning his head towards her.

"We can take them, a couple of dragons aren't difficult to fight-" More movement caught her eyes. Something bigger than a sandwing was headed towards them and whatever it was very fast. A skywing, but this skywing was large, larger than most of the dragons Mist has seen.

Her father turned towards her, and then carefully clutched the sides of her face with his talons, looking directly into her eyes.

"Listen to me, fly inland near the border to the skywing land and then fly directly to the Kingdom of Ice over the sea between the borders," he pointed off to the horizon on her right. "You'll be safe. We can't fly together or the skywing will catch us, I'll...just follow my instructions." He explained, his gaze trailed down before it found its way back to her.

He took a pair of copper bracelets from the scales of his front legs and passed them to her. "Take these and put them on."

Mist was confused, and she took the bracelets from his talons. They fitted perfectly over the scales above her wrists. "Wait, what are you going to do? Where are you going?"

He paused, then looked over his shoulder, then back at her.

"Just do it, okay? You'll be safe, and I'll get to the palace as soon as I can."

"Promise?"

The beating of the wings grew louder, Mist definitely recognised them as the beats of skywing wings.

"Just go." Her father ushered, he turned back around.

Mist wasn't sure if she should leave him. It definitely sounded like he was going to fight them, especially with the sandwings getting closer and closer to them, but she couldn't just leave him out here along and against dragons that'd kill him.

"Go!" He shouted.

Mist obeyed, soon diving through the wind. She thought of twisting back to help him but remembered his instructions. Instead, she looked back. The skywing was within wing-length of her father and as she dove further away the two dragons became silhouettes in the darkness.

It was too dark to see so Mist thought that the skywing collided with her father and fell, until the skywing erupted fire from the skywing's teeth and shot through the sky. The beam of fire was interrupted by a frost breath, so Mist knew her father was still alive.

 _He'll be safe_ , Mist reassured herself. She embraced the darkness and the wind under her wings and flew, never looking back.

She reached the skywing kingdom by the time the sun lit the horizon, spreading light like fire over the mountains. She saw a few skywings between the crevices of the distant mountains but either they didn't notice her or they didn't care. She ignored them and turned to fly towards the sandy banks of the coast and over the sea. Now that it was day, she looked over her tail periodically throughout the flight, thinking she heard loud wingbeats following her. But there weren't, she didn't anything other than big birds in the sky with her.

The blue waves of the sea started to turn into long slates of ice, indicating to Mist that she was close to her home. She couldn't stop now, even when her wings ached for a rest. The snow-covered tundra zoomed behind her and before she knew it, she passed over the great ice wall and into the safety of the icewing kingdom.

She welcomed the sight of other icewings walking and flying around. They were carrying out their usually duties, unaware that their prince and princess was in danger.

Mist landed on the icy ground of the castle courtyard and stamped into the castle, ignoring the protest of the icewing guard outside the walls.

 _I'm half rainwing and a princess, I'm hard to not notice and everyone knows me. Guards shouldn't tell me to wait!_ Mist swallowed the scold she would've given to the guard. _He's only doing what he's told to do, it's hardly his fault._ She assured herself.

Her eyes stopped at the tree of light but ignored it and trudged away, looking for her aunt, Queen Blizzard.

First she thought she heard Queen Blizzard's fair voice in the upper chambers of the castle but it turned out to be a pair of bickering familiar voices that were easily distinguishable close by. They were in one of the reading chambers.

The reading chambers were opposite the library lest to make room and make sure reading dragons weren't always slumped next to the bookcases. Mist twisted her head to the arguing voices.

One of the icewings was an easy white colour throughout and had thinner spikes on his neck. The other was slightly bigger and had a sky-blue hue on his scales. They didn't notice her enter the chamber or standing there, a tail-length away from them.

Mist felt something explode in her throat and clenched her jaw before she bellowed. "PALE! FROST!"

Simultaneously, the two icewings spread their wings and almost leapt into the air in surprise.

Mist stamped loudly on the ice floor approaching them.

The whiter dragon squinted at her, assessing her from talon to tail.

"Mist-uh, Princess Mist?" Pale asked. "We thought something...that something might've happened to you. I thought you were suppose to arrive yesterday. We-"

Mist clasped her talons against the side of Pale's snout and pressed him against the interior ice wall in the palace.

"WHERE WERE YOU!" Mist stared at the writhing dragon below her, stuck in her talons and held with a strength that she didn't know she had.

She knew that, despite her rainwing blood (rainwings are usually portrayed as the smallest of the dragon species), she was actually quite burly and strong. She used this to her advantage in fights where she'd surprise her attacker or even in training.

Pale made a whimpering sound and tried to grab her arm but his talons slid off the bracelets that belonged to her father.

"Pleaff Prinfess, you're cruffing mah frnout," pleaded Pale in muffled voice.

"You were supposed to wait for us, you were supposed to wait! Now," Mist shuddered. "Now North is either dead or dying and that's because of you!"

"North? As in Prince North?" Wondered Frost. The bigger dragon stood almost like a statue watching her. "He didn't return with you?"

"No." Mist held back a snarl. "Because you didn't wait for us like you were SUPPOSED to! What were you two thinking? Running off without us, when the Talons of Power are burying in the world. What was so important that you had to leave?"

Frost opened his mouth and was about to speak when a new voice spoke for him.

"Because I told them to." Said the new dragon. It was Queen Blizzard. She probably heard all the noise and came to investigate.

Mist's immediate thought was to bow but she stopped herself, feeling too angry and wanting to stop herself from yelling instead.

She released Pale from her talons. He rubbed his snout where Mist pinned him and carefully stepped away from her. He stood next to Frost, looking glum with himself. Both Pale and Frost bowed their heads to the arrival of the queen.

"What?" Mist said to Queen Blizzard.

"It was a priority. Queen Thorn told me members of the Talons of Power were spotted close to our borders. Frost and Pale were in Queen Thorn's stronghold, so I sent them to investigate. They returned here to tell me that they were inconclusive." Queen Blizzard said.

"And you didn't send them back to us? Do you know what you've just done?"

Queen Blizzard didn't answer. She waved her talons at Pale and Frost, gesturing for them to leave. Hastily, the two dragons left, leaving Queen Blizzard and Mist alone.

Queen Blizzard approached Mist, not like she was queen but like a friend. She took one of Mist's talons and pressed gently between hers, and she sat, inviting Mist to do the same. Mist did sit but took her talons back, snarling under her breath.

"So tell me, what did happen?" Asked Queen Blizzard.

Mist loathed Queen Blizzard's method of talking to her. Mist admitted that she was perhaps a tad aggressive when she interacted with other dragons beside her father. But her aunt's method was to appear as calm as possible when speaking to her, which, with Queen Blizzard's radiating queenly aura, was actually effective. Mist hated that.

Mist exhaled heavily. She couldn't be mad at her aunt, it was just too difficult when her aunt appeared so calm.

Mist explained the story to Queen Blizzard. She started where the night had officially started in the desert sky. Then when the sand wings and the skywing flew towards them.

Mist inhaled deeply and swallowed the lump in her throat. "He told me to fly towards the sky kingdom and then here."

Queen Blizzard listened to her intently and she nodded. "What happened to North, Mist? What happened to my brother?"

"I don't know." _I'm wasting my time,_ Mist thought. She stood up and stopped herself from pacing. "Which is why we should sending a search party instead of sitting on our tails and doing nothing. I should be doing something. I should out there right now looking for him. We should out there."

Queen Blizzard hushed her. "I know and I'd agree. I can't risk you. I need you to stay put here while I-"

"What?" Mist couldn't believe her ears. Was Queen Blizzard, her aunt, telling her to stay in the palace while something could be happening to her father? "No way! I'm not staying here while my father is being slaughtered right now!"

"Mist, listen!" Ordered Queen Blizzard. She exhaled heavily, running her talons over the crown of icewing spikes behind her head. She resettled herself, looking calm and composed. "I know, I know, trust me, you're doing what you think is right. I'd like nothing more than to go out there myself and personally pull the scales off the dragons working in the Talons of Power."

"So what's stopping you? What are you afraid of?"

"We don't know what the Talons of Power wants. We don't know what happens to the dragons that go missing and their numbers only grow. We think that they convince dragons somehow, to join them, to do whatever they want. We don't even know who's in charge, just that they know what they're doing." She explained.

Mist thought she saw Queen Blizzard shake for a moment but when she checked again, her aunt was frozen like a statue.

Talons like an arctic fox tapped quietly by the entrance of the reading chambers. Both Queen Blizzard and Mist twisted around to look.

It was a dragonet, or at least one that was as small as a sixth year dragonet. Her scales were grey and icy, like a cloud reflecting in the jagged surface of a glacier with black dots as eyes.

"S-Sorry, your majesty, uh- majesties." the dragonet gave a sloppy bow, almost fumbling and rolling over her head. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all, Gelid, tell me what's the matter." Queen Blizzard calmly asked.

"Queen Thorn is requesting your audience through your conveyance mirror."

"Thank you, Gelid, you may go now." The dragonet bowed again, then looked at Mist and then left as silently as she entered.

"I need to speak to Queen Thorn, tell her what has happened and see what we can accomplish together. Mist, promise me you'll stay in the palace until I say you can leave. The Talons of Power are not to be trifled with." Queen Blizzard said.

Mist grumbled.

"Mist. Promise me."

"Fine. Fine. I'll see how long I can last without dying of boredom in my chambers."

Mist left before Queen Blizzard did, heading to her chambers and closing the door so she could have peace.

She first settled on her bed of ice wolf pelts but she couldn't sleep. Her scales jumped frantically, especially around the copper bracelets. She lifted her head up and peered at them, whirling her talons in a circle to watch as light reflected off the bracelets' smooth edges. Something didn't look right.

Being a hybrid, Mist was often stared upon for her unusual appearance. Her icewing blood gave her right arm and wing white icewing scales and crown of spikes behind her head. While her rainwing blood gave everything else. She didn't have frost breath but she could spit out a chilling venom that didn't burn but froze anything it touched. It wasn't particularly useful but Mist figured it was better than nothing.

So when she saw the copper bracelets on her father, they were perfectly fit over his scales. There were indents and rises over the bracelets, almost like her father had another layer of perfect icewing scales that had a coppery colour. But as Mist looked at them again, the bracelet on her left leg was smooth, fitting perfectly over her rainwing scales. That explained how they never fell off when she was flying.

 _Huh, weird,_ Mist mused. _Maybe they're animus touched so that any dragon can wear them. What a weird enchant, and where would father even find these?_

Mist propped the bracelets off to inspect the interior but as she did, she thought she saw something white and reflective fall out, like a piece of paper. She looked around her scales, even lifting the edges of the wolf pelt but she found nothing.

 _Maybe my imagination_ , Mist thought. She inspected the bracelets and planted them as a neat pile beside her, hoping she could sleep better.

It didn't. She couldn't think of anything else than what might've happened to her father. What if the Talons of Power killed him? Or worse, what if they managed to chain him up like a prisoner and tortured him? What if they were brainwashing him to become one of them?

Mist couldn't take it any longer. She bolted up and paced, deciding if she should leave or stay. Queen Blizzard wanted her to promise that she'd stay within the ice kingdom until she gave the all clear, but if Mist went alone then she could search for North. She knew the last place she saw him and she bet none of the Talons of Power would expect for her to come back. Now was the perfect time to go looking.

Mist concluded it: she was going to go looking and no one was going to stop her. She whisked the bracelets into her talons and put them on. She took one last glance of the room and left her chambers.

Before she knew it, the wind was beckoning her wings and she flew towards the desert in the golden sunlight.

She found him. Really found him.

Or rather, she found his corpse.

She spotted it while high in the sky. The desert sands were pale and the sun was high but she was accustomed to the light shining into her eyes was produced by the reflectiveness of icewing scales. She lived in a kingdom full of them. His body was closer to the coast and the skywing kingdom, which Mist assumed he tried to flee and fly the same route she did before something killed him.

The sands heat drained the energy from her body as soon she landed on a short wavy hill.

Half of North's body had been swallowed by the sand. As Mist took a closer look she realised why no other dragon might not has spotted his body, sand had covered most of his scales, brought in by the desert wind. Mist felt her own scales being shot by the tiny grains of sand just standing there.

Clearing the sand from his arm, she pressed her talons against his scales. All coldness was gone, instead the hot desert was already cooking his body and the sands taking and hiding him. She couldn't carry his body back, she was strong but not this strong.

 _I'm sorry father, I knew I should've stayed and fought by your side._ Mist dropped her head in a low bow, but as she did, she saw something unusual on his head. She gently turned his head over from the sand. Between his pair of icewing horns and his eyes was a large burn mark where scales had melted and turned black.

 _So that's what the skywing did to you,_ Mist thought. _I'll find them for you father and kill them all, even if I have to do it alone._ She turned her father's head a few more times, peering around his snout and then carefully dropped his head to the sands. There was nothing she could do for his body anymore.

The only thing Mist could do was to find solace for her father and herself, making sure her escape would not go in vain.

Something surged through her wings, as if the desert sands had just returned her energy to her after realising her valiance.

She heard the subtle footsteps in sand and turned to look. A dragon was almost snout-to-snout to her. Mist was about to spread her wings, about to use her freezing venom, about to leap into the air but she was too slow.

Something hard thumped her on the side of her head, she met the desert sands below and everything fell black.

Mist awoke to a smooth, chilly floor. Was she still in the desert, or somewhere else? Her eyes flickered, washing away the blur in her eyes little by little. She thought was still in the desert because of the sand in front of her but as her vision cleared, they were actually two dragon faces staring at her.

 _Sandwings,_ Mist realised. With a sharp jolt in her body, Mist bolted upwards, throwing her talons at the sandwing closest to her. She thought of clawing her and then attacking the other but she was jerked back by something strong. Her talons scraped on the ground and she groaned, feeling as if her scales and muscles were about to pull away from her bones.

The dragon closest to her didn't move, and softly said. "Whoa,"

The chamber had a smooth floor but rocky walls of a lighter stone Mist had never seen before. The only part of the chamber that told Mist that this was a prison was an open hallway with bars of metal separating it from this chamber.

"My, she really looks weird, weirder than me, I mean." Said the sandwing furthest away from her. Looking at him now, he really did look weird. His body was longer than the average sandwing and it didn't look like he could fold his wings so the wing tips touched the ground instead. He didn't have the rough sandy colour like the other sandwing in front of Mist but was almost wood-like and bronze.

"That, Torrid, is because maybe you haven't noticed that she is half rainwing and half icewing. And maybe we should take you to the doctor to get your eyes CHECKED!" Said the female sandwing in a harsh voice.

Torrid didn't look flustered but raised his long neck at the hostile sandwing, as if he was used to this. "Amber, I did notice, I'm just saying she looks a little weird and that maybe, just maybe out of some logic, my eyes are just fine." He said in an offended tone.

Amber exhaled sharply and shot an irritated glance at Torrid and then looked at Mist. "What's your name, strange dragon?"

Mist grumbled. There was a chain around her neck that felt as if it pulled her eyes out when she attempted to attack earlier.

"None of your business." Mist responded.

"Look, Amber, Torrid." She pointed at herself and then at Torrid. "Wasn't that hard. Now tell us your name."

"Hey! I didn't allow you to introduce myself to this dragon." Defended Torrid.

"Shut up, Torrid, go outside and watch for Hyena. He'll be back as soon as he's done burying that icewing in the sand." Amber said. Torrid grumbled something under his breath and but left, squeezing himself through the only clear entry from the metal bars around the chamber.

"What?" Mist shot upwards. "You can't do that! That's my father you dim-witted penguin!"

"Oh, it is?" Amber asked, though, looking sarcastic. "My condolences. I don't really care. Now, your name before I start ripping your talons off."

"Princess Mist of the icewings, dung-scales, don't get used to the name because I'll be out of here soon." Mist said.

"Oh, a princess! Torrid! Get a load of this!" Amber called out. Torrid shot a glance at Mist through the bars. "We have a princess in our-"Amber muffled her own laughter with her talons"-mist! Get it? Because mist sounds like midst."

"Haha, very clever," Torrid responded but didn't laugh.

Mist snorted. _Ridiculous._

"Well it was funny to me," Amber said.

"I'll give you this last warning," Mist said sternly. "Queen Blizzard will come looking for me and when she does, she will gladly rip every scale off your bodies no matter how loudly you scream. You better let me go right now."

"Now why would I want to do that?" Said a new voice.

Torrid neck twisted back behind him down the hallway that Mist couldn't see. Quickly, he lowered his head and made himself as small of possible. A sandwing bigger than Amber squeezed past Torrid and stared at Mist through the bars with a frustrated and tired expression.

The sandwing had darker sandy colours with a sandstone sail. He could've easily been mistaken for a mudwing at first glance. She guessed this dragon was Hyena.

"Queen Blizzard was the one that wanted you here in the first place." Hyena said. "She knows exactly where you are and knows who's keeping you here. In fact, she just paid me a large amount of coin, insurance that I'll continue to do as she pleases."

No way! Mist wanted to scream. She'd known her aunt all her life, sure she wasn't Mist's favourite dragon in the Pyrrhia but Blizzard didn't appear to be a scheming dragon. _But what do I know about her?_ Mist thought. _She put me in here. She was using me and North to get close to the rainwings. Their tribe is basically best buds with her now, even with me gone._

"Now with you out of the way, Queen Blizzard can remain to be queen for as long as she wants."

"She-she knew I'd leave the palace and come look for North, didn't she?" Mist asked.

Hyena looked unsure for a moment. "Yes, exactly, she knew because you're like paper to her: easy to read and even easier to rip apart. Here." Hyena threw the pair of copper bracelets at Mist. They slid across the stone floor and stopped by her talons. "You can have these pathetic things back. Copper's not worth much anyway."

Mist put the bracelets over her scales, above her shackles. She settled herself, resting her head on top of her bracelets; the last thing she has of North.

"Come now, Amber, Torrid, leave the princess to sulk." Hyena called. Quickly, the sandwings left her, erupting silence over the prison.

 _I'll get out of here, Blizzard, and I will come and kill you. For my father and for me, you'd better watch out. I may not want to be queen but I definitely don't want you to be._


	2. Chapter 1

Gelid liked who she was and where she was as an icewing. From a bloodline of icewings that had never entered anything higher than the fifth circle in the last seven generations, Gelid never saw herself go anywhere near the palace as an adult. She imagined herself patrolling and perched on some island off the coast, following her parents expectations of course. But now she basically sat and flew next to Queen Blizzard all the time, now she lived in the palace, now she flew to all parts of the continent - or at least, starting to. She'd only been to Queen Thorn's stronghold a few times. Nevertheless, life couldn't be any better for her and she definitely didn't need her parents to run it through a field of ice spikes.

It was her first time traveling to the other side of the continent for the Winter-Spring celebrations in the rainforest. The rainforest! She'd read scrolls of all the birds, the constant symphony of echoing music, colours that expressed more than white, blue or grey and the rainwings of all dragons. Gelid admired their colour-shifting scales, how they could be the brightest thing in the sky or as invisible as a star during the day. The rainforest itself was full of wonder with new discoveries every year unknown to the rest of the continent. Did the seawings share the same curiosity in their ocean home?

The teeth and claws of Jade Mountain didn't fit within her talons anymore as her wings soared in the sky, steering her closer and closer to the destination of the rainforest. Flying over Jade Mountain seemed like a scary thing to accomplish when she was a dragonet. The spires grasped the sky and the teeth looked as if it was about to crush her the closer and higher she flew. But as an adult, she imagined the mountain giving up on that objective. If it couldn't swallow her up as a dragonet then how in the blazes was it going to do that to her as an adult? _Take that stupid mountain._

While thinking of Jade Mountain, Gelid pondered if it was appropriate to ask if they could have a quick stop at Jade Mountain Academy. She wondered if anything other than the flow of dragonets had changed since she left.

Gelid attended the academy for almost year before she decided to return to the ice kingdom to work on raising her ranking. She didn't talk to many of the other dragonets, apart from one of them. Besides, this was all before Queen Blizzard personally approached her and offered Gelid the chance to prove herself and join the first circle. She didn't want to follow her family into the sixth and seventh circle and remain overlooked.

A dragon flew down beside her, eying the horizon before meeting Gelid's face.

"Excited, eh?" Asked Pale.

Gelid imagined herself as a flurry of random and bright colours if she was a rainwing. "Very. It's my first time going to the rainforest for the celebrations. It's my first time going to the rainforest in my entire life. So yes, I'm very, _very_ excited." She responded as calmly as possible.

She liked talking to Pale when not around other icewings, or at least far enough away from them. Needless to say, icewings had a stricter code of linguistics than other tribes, which Gelid found infuriating. Or perhaps it was because she only experienced this language in the palace and no where else. Her parents definitely never cared how she spoke, as long as she didn't talk back or talk rudely.

 _What? Rude like them? I'm better than them. I'll be better than they could ever imagine - not that they could imagine either._

"You're going to love it on the rainforest." He flew closer to her, feeling his wing beat the wind over her wings and he whispered into her ear. "Between you and me, I wish the ice kingdom had as much colours as the rainforest. Don't tell Queen Blizzard I said that." He glided away, wingtip to wingtip with Gelid with a small smile.

"Deal," Gelid said. "Many times have you gone?"

"This is the 30th year, right?" Gelid nodded. Pale started to count with his talons but made it counterintuitive as he looked upwards as he counted. "So...fifth time, I think. I was skeptical at first, thinking it was just the rainwings having a party with their colours splattered all over the rainforest. But after the first time, I was hooked. There's music and dancing and performers...you're really going to love it." he said to her.

"Wow. I really can't wait." With the image Gelid had in her head she only wished she could've attended the celebrations earlier.

"You should visit the nightwing village at nighttime, you'll not be disappointed. Well, I mean it's more like a kingdom of its own instead of a village. They just don't have a proper queen..." Pale almost trailed off.

"But they do have a queen, they have Queen Firefly." Gelid responded, questioning his perspective.

"I know. What I meant to say is that they don't have a queen to themselves. Sure, Queen Firefly is technically their queen but she's also queen of the rainwings. It surprises me that she finds time for both tribes." Pale answered, redeeming himself.

"Well queens are certainly hardworking." Gelid said. She shot a glance at Queen Blizzard above her. She looked calm as usual but a with a closer inspection, she had a curve over her eyes, as if she was thinking of something bad or unpleasant.

"As I was saying. Go to the nightwing village at nighttime, you'll not be disappointed. I can even come with you if you want." He offered with a smile.

"Thank you, Pale. I'll definitely think about it." Gelid said. A thought entered her head, a question, a question she just had to ask. "So, want to give me a hint to what's in the nightwing village at nighttime?" Pale shook his head with a small grin. "A nightwing secret? A secret monster? Dragonets throwing mud everywhere including but not limited to: other dragons?"

"You'll have to see for yourself," he responded.

That didn't help calm Gelid's scales one bit. If anything, it only made her wish she had skywing wings so she could fly faster, or even the magic of an animus so she could teleport herself. Queen Blizzard would probably think it'd be a waste of magic though, not that it would stop Gelid from doing it.

She stayed silent, imaging what the rainforest would look like during the celebrations.

Approaching Jade Mountain, their security detachment of sandwings departed from them, completing their mission of protecting Queen Blizzard and the group of icewings flying through the desert. Gelid appreciated Queen Blizzard and Queen Thorn's relationship as well as being neighbours.

Gelid had seen Queen Thorn numerous times during visits, even possibly saving her and Queen Blizzard's life when Gelid stomped on a dragonbite viper that snuck through a hole in the palace. Queen Thorn was a big dragon but also quite kind, which Gelid found surprising. Considering that Queen Thorn had been challenged five times throughout her life, two by her daughters and three by her nieces, her kindness and patience had not died out either. Though, both of Queen Thorn's eldest and youngest daughter was still alive and one of them was probably going to win the next challenge if Queen Thorn didn't step down by the next decade.

Jade Mountain and beyond was the safest place in the continent: the rainforest. The border was patrolled by invisible rainwings during the day and the nightwings during the night where shadows were everywhere and everything looked like the snout of a dragon. The trees themselves formed the pillars in the kingdom where the trunks reached into the skies and roofed the kingdom with its canopy.

Though, Gelid argued with Pale that the rainforest was the second safest place on the continent, behind Jade Mountain Academy as first. Gelid stated that the academy was full of easily-provoked dragonets that would happily claw any dragon that threatened the mountain. Not to mention that the fabled dragons of destiny lived in the mountain. All the queens supported the dragons of destiny.

Focused on sweeping her eyes over the crevices of the mountain, a blue dragon caught her eye, along with half a dozen dragonets following it. _Tsunami_ , Gelid guessed. _And her very vestigial hunting party I bet._ She watched the dragons until they became dots in the distance.

"Halt!" Ordered Queen Blizzard. Gelid pushed her wings forward, stopping herself and then hovered in the air, watching the queen. "Stay here. This is the border of the rainforest where I will announce our arrival to the rainwing patrols."

Queen Blizzard flew ahead towards the bright forest columns that swathed in the sunlight, fencing the rainforest beyond the borders as if it kept the darker shadows within instead of leaking it out to the rest of the continent. _She's not going alone_ , Gelid decided, flying after Queen Blizzard.

Queen Blizzard landed upon a wooden platform that extended into the rainforest and slowly walked in, looking around before staring at Gelid. "I thought I told you to halt." She said. She sat calmly, coiling her tail around next to her talons.

Gelid landed on the platform. "You did but my job is to protect you, no matter what."

"Your devotion is charming," Queen Blizzard said. "But next I say halt, you halt. Glory implemented some strict rules during the celebrations when she was queen which Queen Firefly has done well to duplicate."

"Yes, your majesty." _Way to mess up, Gelid, good job_. She scolded herself. _She might as well toss me out of the palace for a few months._

Four rainwings suddenly appeared out of thin air, like snow falling from a snowstorm but with an exhibition of colours with bright red, green, a darker green and orange colours between them. They all bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Queen Blizzard of the icewings, and uh," The red rainwing looked over Queen Blizzard's wing at Gelid with confusion. "Princess? Apologies for my confusion, I did not know a princess was accompanying you." He said to Queen Blizzard.

"No apologies needed. This is my personal bodyguard, Gelid. She has only recently received the important position and orders, which she follows with remarkable precision." She said, glancing at Gelid with a small smirk that was almost impossible to notice.

 _Oh now she's making fun of me._ Gelid forced herself to not to smile. Instead, she watched the rainwings. The green scaled rainwings held small pouches on the side of their front legs while holding what looked to be a hollow, wooden tube as long and thick as an individual spike on Queen Blizzard's crown of spikes. The red and orange rainwing both held spears with the blunt end perfectly flat on the ground, as if the rainwings weren't even holding them up at all.

After a quick chat between the warmer coloured rainwings, the red rainwing spoke again. "All is accounted for, if you could call for your icewings to gather here, we'll escort you to Vine Square where the celebrations will be taking place."

"Gratitude," Queen Blizzard said. She looked to Gelid. "Maybe it is a good thing you followed me after all. I need you to call the others so we'll all travel in one group."

Gelid obeyed, lifting off towards the flying retinue of icewings.

"Did you get in trouble?' Pale asked, not looking tired from hovering in the air all that time.

"Only for a second," Gelid replied "But I'm surprisingly lucky."

"Hah," He almost barked a laugh. "I bet. You should be called Lucky, suits you more."

Gelid snorted. "Come on now, Queen Blizzard had announced that we may travel into the rainforest. She asks for us to assemble on the platform to be later escorted to Vine Square." She said.

The icewings landed upon the platform after Gelid and Pale, one by one. Gelid realised just how out of place the icewings look in the forest. There was no place for white or pale colours in the rainforest at all.

Soon, they all flew into the shade of the rainforest following the orange rainwing. Apparently, with the help of the nightwings, the rainwings had demolished a wider and clearer path from trees and shrubbery to help other tribes fly through the dense trees. Vines still hung from the trees and the canopy, which Gelid almost flew into numerous times. Gelid guessed that very few of these paths were made, if there were any more than the one they followed, to keep other dragons with dangerous intents unable to travel through the rainforest. Not that it would've been possible to attack the rainforest with all the invisible rainwings.

Bright light caught her eyes. Skylight poured down into a flat wooden platform above the ground. Wooden stilts supported the giant platform and long interweaved vines hung like chains from the trees. Rainwings and nightwings walked interchangeably around the outskirts. Gelid found some dragons from the other tribes as well such as sandwings, skywings and mudwings. _Their queens must be here already_ , Gelid determined.

In front of them was a large nightwing talking to a much smaller purple and orange rainwing. Gelid heard them speaking.

"It was a white dragon, I'm sure of it." Said the nightwing.

"A white dragon you say, attacking the celebrations?" Asked the rainwing.

"Yes, your majesty...I mean, I think so. My visions aren't usually so vague and this one wasn't so clear. I just...I remember seeing a white dragon attacking another dragon with red scales, a rainwing I think."

"Do you know where?"

"No, it was blurry and grey. I think it might be at nighttime." Answered the nightwing.

The rainwing looked at Queen Blizzard approaching. "Alright, thank you Moon. I'll consider what you've proposed to me but I can't cancel the celebrations, not when all the queens are attending. Please come to me if you have anymore visions. I need to know who and I need to know where." The rainwing said hastily.

The nightwing bowed and walked away carefully, as to not shake the entire platform with each step.

Landing, the rainwing half bowed to Queen Blizzard who bowed back.

"Queen Blizzard," said the rainwing, completing her bow. "A pleasure to greet you as queen and to be the one to greet you arriving in time for the celebrations."

"The pleasure is mine, Queen Firefly." Queen Blizzard responded.

 _So that's Queen Firefly._ Queen Firefly looked about the same size as Queen Blizzard but thinner. The bottom half of her legs were uncharacteristically black and the same as her tail, which didn't seem to curl like the other rainwings did. T _hat's because she's a hybrid. Wow. Never thought I'd see a rainwing and nightwing hybrid in all my life._

Apart from her black scales, Queen Firefly had dark-violet scales throughout. Her underbelly were orange and her wings were a watery blue, like she captured the sun rays of a sunset and sky and stuffed it into her scales. Between her horns was a crown of yellow-golden scales and dots of vibrant purple raced down the sides of her body where the night apprehended her scales.

 _I don't know what I expected from the queen of the nightwings and rainwings but she's absolutely gorgeous._ Gelid thought. _I wish I had rainwing scales._

"Trouble?" Queen Blizzard asked, glancing at the big nightwing.

"A minor problem. My best seer had a vision, she thinks something may happen tonight but I wouldn't rush to conclusions not when the rainforest will be the most guarded place on the continent tonight. All the tribes will be here." Queen Firefly explained.

"All the more reason to worry, wouldn't you think?" Suggested Queen Blizzard. "But I trust you. Now, where is our area? My icewings are feeling exhausted from the journey."

"Of course, right this way."

Queen Firefly led them to a dais with a wooden pavilion large enough to fit twenty fully grown dragons. Along one side was a table full of bowls and plates of colourful fruit, fluffy pastries and an assortment of raw fish, cleaned and cut. Along the back was a walkway with a fence to warn dragons of the edge and sheer drop. But Gelid only saw rainwings and nightwings walking along it and staring out into the forest every few moments. She guessed only guards used that walkway.

Gelid looked around, noticing things for the first time. First of all, Vine Square had an open canopy to the sky. The sun barely touched the edges of the leaves, indicating that there was at least four and a half hours until it fell below the horizon.

Second of all, the Square had three layers. Seven pavilions stretched around on the top layers, which Gelid guessed was meant for all the queens when they came to celebrate plus one for the nightwings. The icewing pavilion was next the rainwing pavilion, which Gelid assumed when Glory landed upon it and briefly chatted at Queen Blizzard before flying off once more. Queen Thorn and King Smolder were perched on their pavilion alone, while Queen Fuchsia and King Sanguine were talking to their skywing subjects on their pavilion.

Below the pavilions were all the shops and stalls, selling various fruits and trinkets, and buskers singing and playing instruments. The bottom layer was a drop and was the center of the Square. A stage sat opposite all the pavilions at the bottom, devoid of any dragons. Occasionally she saw a sandwing or a rainwing walk along the edges of the bottom layer into what looked to be a storage area.

What intrigued Gelid the most was the lighting. Tied with vines and hung around each layer were small luminescent bulbs, each with their own different colour than the one next to them. Though, with unlit bamboo torches along the edges of each layer before the sudden drop made Gelid think these lights were more decorative than practical.

"You should go look around," said Queen Blizzard suddenly, almost startling Gelid. "Instead of staying by my side," she added, looking down at her.

"I should stay by you, just in case." Gelid justified. She looked over her shoulder at the icewings behind her. Half of them were resting with their heads over their talons, while the other half were eating the assortment of foods.

"You're protective and I appreciate that but seeing as it's your first time here I suggest you go look around. Try some new food, buy some souvenirs, greet some of the dragons. Make the most of your time and experience here while you can." Queen Blizzard calmly suggested.

Gelid considered it, reminding herself of Pale's comment to go the nightwing village. She wondered if she was even allowed to go there.

"But-"

"No buts, it's an order. Go, shoo, experience something you don't everyday." Queen Blizzard nudged Gelid's shoulder, almost knocking her over.

Gelid's first thought was that this was a test, a test to examine her abilities to argue and to strengthen her voice and opinions, even against the queen. Previous icewing queens did this often, especially to first circle dragons to personally test their place. But Queen Blizzard almost never did this and when she did, it was a test of moral, like whether a dragon should go to prison or be exiled.

"Alright," she agreed. "But I'll be back by the time the sun falls." Queen Blizzard nodded, returning her gaze over the Square.

Gelid admitted that she wanted to go down to the second layer where all the other dragons walked. So she did. She walked by and peaked her head into every stall. The vendors greeted her politely and patiently waited as she gazed at every little thing. She even tried a dish that consisted of some kind of fatty meat resting in a small pool of green liquid.

"Roasted camel meat boiled in sweet prickly pear cactus fruit and sugar cane," offered the sandwing vendor. "Care to try?"

Gelid thought about it. "Never tried camel before, or cactus...Does it taste good?"

"Of course it does, it's my father's recipe, he owns a camel farm, and this cactus is found between the desert and the sky mountains. It's ethical I assure you. Though, you'd be the first icewing to try it. I implore you to try - you know what, I'll make it half-priced just for you, fine dragon." Said the sandwing with a polite smile.

She had to try it then. "Sure. One please." She handed the sandwing some gold coins. After sitting by a table, the sandwing came to her and carefully placed the plate in front of her and retreated back behind the stall to serve a rainwing. Gelid ate the dish, admiring the unusual taste and structure. She'd remember this in case Queen Blizzard ever wanted to eat something different while in the sandwing kingdom.

Gelid wanted to compliment the sandwing but by the time she was done there was a line of rainwings and nightwings by the stall. _I think I might have given him some unexpected attention. Good for business I guess. I did something good._ Gelid thought, feeling happy with herself.

She checked on Queen Blizzard, realising that she was across the Square from her. _Maybe I should stay closer, just in case. No, no, I shouldn't worry._ _This is the safest place in Pyrrhia._ Looking around the pavilions, Queen Ibis and her sibling group had arrived. A smaller mudwing sat next to her, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but in the rainforest. She guessed that was Princess Willow, Queen Ibis's daughter.

Midway through the second layer was a short tunnel under the layer of pavilions that extended to a covered area under the canopy of the trees. It was wide, large enough to fit more than half a kingdom of dragons. The flat floor of the platform was occasionally interrupted by tree trunks, allowing the trees to grow despite the development of the platform. Small vine chandeliers hung from the canopy, each one with a large coloured bulb of light with a ring of smaller ones around them.

 _Guess they're brighter than I thought they'd be,_ assessed Gelid, impressed.

A mixture of dragons from different tribes walked and sat around this area, probably to escape the bustling noise of all the markets. Most of the dragons walked in pairs or small groups, which was why Gelid spotted a lonesome nightwing sitting and staring over the edge of the platform.

It was the same one that was talking to Queen Firefly when she arrived. Queen Firefly's best seer, supposedly. _I can take this opportunity to talk to her about her vision_. Gelid knew that nightwings born under one or more full moons can get the ability to predict the future but she also knew that they could be quite obscure with their place and meaning.

She approached the big nightwing, feeling like a tiny snowball next to dragon talons. How should she greet this nightwing? Should Gelid greet her like the nervous writhing reptile she was? Acting as "an icewing in the first circle" and regal as possible? Casually?

While Gelid was thinking, she almost didn't notice the nightwing looking down at her with a calm expression. Gelid jumped back in surprise.

"Can I help you?" Asked the nightwing.

"Uh, yes, actually, I was hoping I could hear about your vision? The one you were telling Queen Firefly earlier." Gelid said, trying to sound as calm and composed as Queen Blizzard usually was.

"Why should I tell you?" Asked the nightwing.

Gelid almost felt offended. "Because my queen's safety is my responsibility, because if she gets hurt or even killed when I could've stopped it, it's my fault. Because I think it's important and so do you. You went to Queen Firefly straight away to tell her of your vision because you think some dragon might get harmed and that you could've stopped it before it happened because you care. Because I care and if I had a vision of some dragon getting hurt I'd do something about it too." Gelid said, breathing deeply afterwards.

The nightwing stared at her for a few seconds. "You're definitely more caring than most," Gelid expected her to add: "for an icewing" at the end of her sentence. "What's your name?"

"Gelid, first circle, personal bodyguard to Queen Blizzard." Gelid introduced.

"You look young to be a bodyguard. Very well. My name is Moonwatcher but everyone calls me Moon." Moon said with a faint smile.

"So, Moon, can you tell me about your vision?"

"I think you've convinced me enough. Yes I had a vision about two hours ago." Moon looked out towards the dense rainforest and then closed her eyes. "I couldn't see much, there was darkness, like a fog or a cloud. The next I see a dragon with white scales and long claws. The dragon was attacking another in the darkness, a dragon with red scales. That's all I saw." She described, returning her gaze to Gelid. "Usually my visions are much clearer but this one...this one's different and I'm not entirely sure why."

"So a white dragon attacks a red dragon somewhere dark." Gelid said concisely. "Do you think the white dragon could be an icewing?"

"Could be. At first I thought it could be you but your scales are more grey than white. The dragon I saw was whiter. So it could be another icewing." Moon said.

"And the red dragon...do you think that could be a skywing? Skywings are usually have red scales." suggested Gelid. Like King Sanguine, his scales are as red of molten iron.

"No." Moon shook her head. "The dragons scales were too vibrant, too red. I think it might be a rainwing."

Gelid reminded herself of the red rainwing she saw first entering the rainforest, after disobeying Queen Blizzard's order of halting. _Could be him...Maybe_ , Gelid thought. _But he was nice_.

"An icewing attacking a rainwing," Moon said. "Do you know of any icewings that might attack a rainwing?" She asked Gelid.

Pale was the only icewing who had travelled to the rainforest prior, other than Queen Blizzard but Gelid knew she wouldn't risk breaking the icewing's relationship with the rainwings. And Pale was one of the nicest icewings any dragon could know.

"No, I can't think of any dragon. Except maybe one," Gelid reminded herself an icewing she had never seen before. An icy-bluish icewing with a strange iron helmet over his head and horns. He was flying with them. "But it's an icewing I don't know."

"Perhaps. But maybe Queen Firefly was right. I don't know when this happens. It could happen tonight, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week. Maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid." Moon said.

"Well if you're being paranoid then I'm being extremely paranoid." Moon snorted. "Have you had anymore visions? Maybe a clearer one or-"

"I haven't had a vision since. I wish I could. But no matter how much I concentrate I can't seem to see anything. I think it has something to do when the all the moons are black." Moon explained, looking up at the canopy. "A friend of mine once said that nightwing powers are less powerful with each moon that is black, even if it's day; that nightwing powers are greater when even one moon's crescent is glowing in the sky."

"That sounds annoying." Gelid said, following Moon's eyes.

"It is." Moon looked at her talons, stretching each one as if she'd been standing like an icewing guard for hours. "As for my vision," she said to Gelid. "I don't think you should worry. Enjoy the celebrations. Enjoy tonight because I don't think the tribes will be as calm around each other today than any other day."

"Alright." Gelid rose to her feet. "Thank you, Moon." Moon nodded and presumed watching the rainforest with a sad expression.

Gelid headed back towards the markets, pausing as she entered to the sudden wave of noise. The sky was still bright but the sun was almost completely under the leaves of the canopy where the other side started to glow golden. Queen Blizzard was in the sandwing pavilion talking to Queen Thorn and King Smolder.

Queen Auklet had arrived with a sour expression on her face, stamping past the other dragons and sitting on her spot of the pavilion. Blue and green seawings accompanied her, sitting around her as she did. Gelid watched as Queen Fuchsia in the pavilion next to the seawings tried to call Queen Auklet in an attempt of a conversation.

 _Who stepped on her snowflake?_ Gelid wondered.

Something white moved in the corner of her eye. Gelid looked around, quickly spotting a rainwing with pure white scales walking down to the steps to the bottom layer where the stage was. His torso looked particularly big for a rainwing. His left leg had a gold metal covering like armour as well as a golden helmet-like crown between his horns. Long blue and green feathers went shortly down his neck.

 _Looks like a white dragon to me_ , Gelid thought. She walked to the top of the steps and watched the white rainwing. He disappeared into a wall of orange curtains behind the stage. Gelid followed, walking down the steps quietly and across the stage where she peaked her head into the curtains. Behind was another wall of blue curtains. Behind that was a large rectangle room fitted with wooden walls.

There was only one light source and it came from the odd light bulbs she saw outside. They were in an oval array around a mirror. In front of the mirror was the white rainwing. He was handsome, more so than Pale.

"I thought I heard some dragon follow me," said the white rainwing, not looking away from the mirror.

Gelid jerked back away from the curtain. "I saw you, icewing," he said. _How did he see me? I thought I was far enough away that he didn't see me follow him._ "It's okay, I don't mind the attention. You can come in if you want to meet me. I'm not the kind of dragon that bites." He added calmly.

Gelid thought that he was far too nice to attack someone, at least by the way he spoke. She thought of at least interrogating as subtly as possible. Gelid peered into the room again, meeting the gaze of the white rainwing. He had a calm, yet curious expression.

She walked in. "Sorry, I don't mean to stalk. It's just that...I've never seen a white rainwing before."

"I am a peculiar flower aren't I." Said the rainwing. "Every other rainwing chooses a bright colour used by a rainwing before them but how many choose the simple elegancy of white?"

"I apologise for my bluntness but what's your name?" Gelid asked.

"You haven't heard of me?" Gelid shook her head. "Well, I should've guessed that my name wouldn't have crossed any further than half the continent." He stood up and walked towards Gelid, taking her talons and squeezing them gently in a small bow. "My name is Swan, performer. Yours?"

"Gelid," she took her talons back. "First circle, personal bodyguard to Queen Blizzard."

"Gelid." Swan echoed, turning his back and walking towards the mirror. He ran the tips of his talons under the edges of his golden crown which Gelid saw through the reflection of the mirror. "That name doesn't suit you."

"It doesn't? I think it's a fitting name for an icewing." Gelid responded, looking down her leg and examining her scales.

"For an icewing, perhaps, yes you are correct, but not for you. Gelid means cold, too cold, like a lone snowflake falling into an ocean. You deserve a better name, a name like...Opal. Yes, that sounds better. What do you think?" He asked Gelid.

"I think I'll stay with the name my parents chose for me."

"Yes, I think that's the best course of action, forgive me." He carefully picked up his headdress with both his talons and resettled it. "What do you think of my peacock feather headdress? I've had it personally fitted and made for me; the first of its kind."

"I think it's...different but it works, especially with your white scales." Gelid said. "So I'm going to guess you chose your scales to be white because your name is Swan, right? Swans have white feathers."

"Some also have black feathers but I live next to a village of nightwings so black wouldn't stand out as much as white." He explained.

"Right. Do you have many friends, Swan?" Swan looked at her with a confused expression. "I mean, as a performer and your politeness you seem like the kind of dragon with many friends." _Too blunt_ , Gelid, _too blunt_.

"I have friends, not many, but enough that I'm satisfied."

 _THWOOP._

Queen Firefly's head stuck through the curtains, surveying around the room and then at Gelid, appearing relieved as she did.

"Oh, Gelid, thank goodness." Queen Firefly, her body appeared from the curtains as she walked towards Gelid. "Sorry for the interruption, Swan, I need Gelid for a moment."

"Of course, your majesty. I hope you stay for the celebrations, Gelid, it was a pleasure speaking to you." He waved politely.

Queen Firefly lead the way out onto the stage where she breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I'd never escape Queen Fuchsia." She exhaled heavily

"Something the matter?" Gelid asked.

"Uh no - yes!" Said Queen Firefly with a sudden burst of energy. Gelid felt conflicted with the queen's words. "Actually I was looking for you and then I saw you come down here and I was about to call your name when Queen Fuchsia basically kidnapped me and held me hostage with her words. I need a favour from you."

"What kind of favour?" Gelid asked.

"Great, great. I need you to get something from the nightwing village," she said simply.

"Wait, me? Why me? Surely there's some other dragon you could choose to go instead of me," Gelid suggested. A part of Gelid felt honoured that Queen Firefly knew her name and had selected her to do this very mission, but the other part felt ridiculous that Gelid would be chosen to simply retrieve something.

"You're right, you're absolutely right, you probably haven't been to the nightwing village before. Have you?" Gelid shook her head. "Right, sorry." Queen Firefly ran a talon under her neck, breathing shakily as she did. Gelid guessed she was stressed but was surprised that her scales never changed colour like Gelid expected. Rainwing scales usually reflected the emotions of the rainwing, which Gelid understood.

"It's just that I've been thinking about what Moon - my seer said to me. Could a dragon really want to attack another during the celebrations? Maybe they might think that I'm a bit lenient because it's my first time doing something like this and that I haven't been queen for very long, maybe they think I'm unable to be in control of situations or...questioning my leadership." explained Queen Firefly.

"I'm thinking that something might happen tonight. So that's why I came to you for some help," she said to Gelid. "I figured because Queen Blizzard chose you to be her bodyguard that you're a very trustworthy dragon, probably one of the most in this entire rainforest and that I too can trust you."

Gelid considered Queen Firefly's words. Looking up, the sun was a mere crescent under the canopy and remembered what Pale said about the nightwing village. "What do you need me to retrieve?"

The queen's face lit up like the sun. "Excellent. It's a gift for Queen Blizzard, really precious and fragile and just...I won't say what it is because I want it to be a surprise but it's extremely valuable. Something personal from me to your queen and for both our kingdoms."

"For both our kingdoms," Gelid echoed. "Sure, I can do this for you. Just point me in the direction of the nightwing village and I'll have this done before the moon rises."

Queen Firefly's scales flashed gold for a split-second before resettling back to purple and orange. "Follow me." she said, lifting into the air. Gelid followed her to the top layer, quickly glancing at the dragons that stared at them. The queen pointed beyond the trees and towards Jade Mountain. "If you fly this way, you should get to the nightwing village in no time. If any nightwings stop you, tell them that I sent you and they should let you pass."

Gelid stared into the dense trees, wondering if she might get lost on the way or get attacked by other dragons. She felt suddenly overwhelmed but swallowed it down.

"The gift I have for Queen Blizzard is in the blacksmith's hut. The blacksmith's name is Forgelight. Tell her that I sent you and she'll give you a box. Be very, very careful with it." She explained.

Gelid nodded and lifted into the air, flying into the labyrinth of trees and towards the nightwing village.

 _Remember, use Queen Firefly's name in case any nightwings hold me up. The blacksmith's name is Forgelight. She will give me a box which I need to be careful with. Very important, for both our tribes. Why am I doing this? I'm going to get lost I just know it._


	3. Chapter 2

Surprisingly, Gelid didn't get lost like she thought she would. Sure the rainforest was a large kingdom with trees and bushes in every part of her view and further but it wasn't that big. The desert that took up the entire sandwing kingdom was bigger in comparison but the open horizon and clear skies made it seem so much smaller and the flights shorter. Unlike the desert, the rainforest was so much more distracting and colourful. And so much more dangerous.

It wasn't the danger of other dragons that made Gelid worried, it was all the unfamiliar noises, the environmental repetitiveness that made every minute of flight look the same, and all the weird and wacky animals she'd seen. So far, she'd seen the same type of bug fly around her tail and then landing on one of her legs and creeping her out. There was a red bug that had attached itself under her wing and started sucking her blood. Gelid admitted that she didn't notice it until it dropped and rolled blue liquid over her leg, probably realising that icewing blood was far too cold for it. Creepy little creatures.

After stopping to check that she didn't have bugs unknowingly hidden around and under her scales, she continued on her flight and it wasn't long until she quickly embraced the sight of another dragon.

A nightwing like a single moon crescent in an icy night sky and slightly bigger than herself approached her, gesturing for her to land which she followed. He landed in front of her, asking her to state her intentions.

"I have been sent by Queen Firefly to retrieve an object of great importance. She instructed me to fly this way. I, however, do not posses the knowledge of the path to your village. Could you in any way assist me?" Gelid almost broke out in laughter to her own words. This was how icewings spoke, generally, though with their snouts pointed fancily in the air to appear higher and superior.

The nightwing opened his mouth but then closed it, looking as though he wanted to question her. He assessed Gelid from tail to talon, then asking if she had any weapons, any companions or any other intentions, which Gelid all declined. She noticed a silver tear drop behind each of his eyes that glimmered in the soft rays of sunlight that pierced the forest.

The nightwing was complacent, lifting into the air and beckoning for Gelid to follow. Quickly, Gelid realised that the sun was lowering closer to the horizon.

 _I should really hurry. I said I'd be by Queen Blizzard's side by the time the sun fell._ Gelid considered flying faster but it would've made the nightwing suspicious with her eagerness to attend their village. And she was, she really was. Apart from scanning the forest for threats, Gelid's mind couldn't stop thinking of what the nightwing village would look like. She imagined a village made of dark stone and lit with candle lanterns that hung outside the buildings. She imagined herself bumping into the nightwings countless times because their scales were so dark. She imagined the nighttime where she could see nothing other than flickering fiery dots - almost like she was sleeping calmly but she guessed that wasn't the typical slumber dream of an icewing.

They were flying for a short while when Gelid noticed the trees grew thinner, like the spikes of an ice spike field during the warmer days of summer. It was reminiscent of the tundra trees between the desert and the great ice wall, but these rainforest trees were browner with much greener leaves. The noise and chatter of animals became less and less, enough that Gelid heard the small crashes of a waterfall but before Gelid had the chance of seeing it, the nightwing veered right.

She wasn't sure how she missed it, even in the corner of her eyes, she missed it. Before her was a wall made of dark wood panels and interweaving dark emerald vines. Thicker vines with blue flowers grew from the base of the wall and up to the canopy, creating their own walls of nature. Not much was seen beyond the wall as the nightwing descended, landing on a light grey ground of cobblestone and gravel that scrapped with her claws as she walked. There was a silhouette of a large wooden door within the wall.

A nightwing similar to the one that greeted her in the midst of the rainforest yelled from the top of the wall.

"Moxie!" Yelled the nightwing, tapping her spear on the top of the wall crenel. "Who is this icewing you have found?" The bigger nightwing stared at Gelid but not with the hostility that matched her voice.

"A visitor," replied Moxie. "Sent by Queen Firefly. She says she has something urgent to retrieve."

The nightwing guard watched with narrow eyes, considering Moxie's words. "Fine, you may enter but only because either you-"the nightwing said to Gelid with an unlit glare"-have the nerve to use Queen Firefly's name like that or that it's true." The nightwing looked down and behind the wall and then waved her arm. Metal chains were pulled and the halves of the door pulled away from each other, assimilating into the thick wood and vine wall.

Moxie walked her in before pausing. "I have to go back to patrolling," he looked up at the wall. "And don't mind my sister, she's just...well, nevermind. Well bye." He waved.

Gelid didn't have the time to ask for directions to the blacksmith as Moxie flew away into the shadows of the dense rainforest. Nightwings are nightwings. She considered asking Moxie's sister but she didn't appear to be the friendliest of dragons. I'll just find it myself. After all, how hard could finding a blacksmith be? Except that the ice kingdom was cold and had no need for blacksmiths because icewings naturally had thicker scales and sharp claws. Metal wouldn't barely glow to melt in the ice kingdom. So she had no idea what a blacksmiths looked like.

Her vision of the nightwing village wasn't too far off. To her left was a mail station with a single nightwing sorting letters and small boxes into small cubic shelves. Next to that building was a garden with thin rows of a small plants with red berries hanging over the sides. A pair of nightwings looked at down, lifting each small branch of red berries. Adjacent were houses of smooth dark grey stone with small vines growing up the sides. Bright colourful bulbs littered the front of the houses in their short grassy gardens.

Gelid wondered around the streets, carelessly gazing at each house and staring back at the nightwings that stared at her. Many times she tried to approach some but they walked off in a pretend hurry somewhere else. Eventually she found a small garden park lit by the bright bulbs embedded in the stubby trees and ground, and she sat in an oval of flat stones.

With the dark and golden leaves high in the canopy overhead making it impossible to calculate how much time she had until dusk, Gelid wondered if Queen Blizzard had realised that she was gone. Was her queen worried? Angry perhaps? Maybe Queen Firefly had told her of Gelid's task to ease her troubles. Nevertheless time was flying away and Gelid hadn't the slightest clue of where the blacksmiths were. She decreed that this village was far too big to be a village and that Pale was right to call it a kingdom of its own.

While thinking with her eyes closed (she found it much easier to think like this, especially when she might've been unintentionally staring at another dragon while deep in her thoughts), she thought she heard quiet skittering of tiny talons tapping the ground. She opened her eyes to a small nightwing dragonet sitting and staring at her with a wide curiosity in his eyes. He looked no older than two years.

"You look very pretty to be a nightwing. You're like a daywing." Said the dragonet with an unblinking expression.

Gelid first looked around wondering where this dragonet's parents might be and why they weren't watching him. If Gelid's parents caught her talking to an adult dragon without their consent she'd wake up the next day with her name in last place in the rankings. But she knew that nightwings had a different ranking system to icewings for some reason.

"I'm an icewing, actually," Gelid answered. "See, I have white scales." She opened her talons towards the dragonet and he touched her scales.

"Ooooh, cold." He patted with fascination. "What's an icewing?" Asked the dragonet.

"We are like nightwings but we live in the cold and snow."

"Snow? You live in the snow! That must be so cool. I bet you throw snowballs at everyone everyday, that's what I'd do. I splat splat splat snowballs on everyone's face!" He flapped his wings, jumping around on the grass.

"No, I don't think so," Gelid could never picture herself doing something as undignified as throwing a snowball at another dragon. Snow wasn't a toy to play around with. Snow was a weapon and a tool, a weapon to keep out other dragons and a tool used to hide and build. Not to mention that she definitely would not like another dragon throwing snow at her, not with the endless snowstorms doing that naturally.

An adult nightwing on the edges of the garden caught her attention as the nightwing scolded the dragonet, almost like an icewing mother.

"But mother, I just woke up." Whined the dragonet, dropping his tail on the ground and a short burst of fire erupted from his snout.

The adult nightwing scrambled over the garden, picking the dragonet up and fumbling him over her neck, scattering apologies to Gelid for bothering her. She hurried off.

Suddenly a heavy weight landed on top of her like a boulder, a very, very warm boulder, and Gelid was pushed forward to the ground with grass shoved up her snout. With no time to think, her body reacted instead. Her tail coiled in two circles first. Gelid shuffled, quickly assessing what part of her body she could move. Whatever was on top of her was roughly only over her right side, so she lifted her left legs first. The weight toppled and her right side was free.

Gelid spun around and stood up, curling her talons into the grass. Where she used to sit instead was a dark brown mudwing upside down on the grass.

"Ow, ow, ow," complained the mudwing.

"Who are you?" Gelid asked. His scales looked familiar but she couldn't recall meeting any mudwings personally.

The mudwing twisted his head around, revealing a line of deep red scales racing from the edge of his jaw down to his tail. Looking at him now, Gelid realised that the mudwing had strange, ash-coloured wings and tail. The mudwing rolled to his side and then stood up, shaking off dirt as he did.

"My name is Lavalicker, Lava for short. Don't you remember me, from the academy? We were friends, I think. We were in the copper winglet together. I didn't think a dragon like me was easy to forget." He explained.

"Lava...Lava," Gelid pondered the name. Then she remembered him, albeit a smaller version.

Lavalicker was a nightwing and mudwing hybrid born in the mud kingdom before residing in the rainforest. He and Gelid were friends before she left, which she admittingly had forgotten quickly when she returned to the ice kingdom. He was roughly a year older than her. Gelid remembered freezing a small stream with her frostbreath and then he tried to walk atop the ice only for the ice to break and he fell in.

"Sorry about falling on you. I saw you and then I got excited and then I flew up and for some reason I forgot where you were sitting and I didn't look where I landed." Lava explained. He lifted his wings and looked under his shoulder. "Wow, your tail is sharper than it looks." On one of his hind legs were three small red cuts.

"Sorry," Gelid said, almost forgetting that icewings had a small branch of thin spikes on the end of their tails.

"Don't be, I'm the one that fell on a friend," he apologised. "Oh, you have dirt and grass all over - uh." He walked over and carefully swiped his wide talons behind her shoulder. "That didn't work."

Gelid twisted her neck over her shoulder, realising that her entire side was some kind of swamp colour of dirt and mushed green plants. Next to Lava's tail on the ground was a shallow impression where she guessed the entire side of her body fell into.

Lava looked around with a worried expression. "Come with me." He said to Gelid.

After exiting the garden, she followed him past the houses and wandering nightwings that stared at them with the corners of their eyes. Gelid found, a short distance from the garden, was a vine-wood bridge that traversed a shallow river bed. The ground on the other side was flat and mossy, and Gelid explored the feeling of something softer than grass under her talons. Though she'd heard tales of dragons walking over fields of moss, only to fall into a hole that the moss covered.

Between two tall, diagonal trees was a large square structure made of a similar smooth black rock that made the houses of the village. From the top to the ground were clear, thin tubes, like glass or a frozen shaft of ice. The tubes coiled on the ground.

Lava rolled a shiny metal bucket from the side and flipped it upright in front of one of the tubes. With one claw, he slashed a small gash on the side of the tube. Water ran out of the tube into the bucket.

"What are those?" Gelid asked.

"Water vines," Lava answered. "They have roots in the water tank that sucks up water. They have a lot, as you can see." He waved his talons over the water vine. "See, this is all water. Cool, isn't it?"

"Well it's definitely something I've never seen before." she agreed, walking closer to get a better look. The bucket was almost half full. "So you just rip a hole in it and the water comes out?"

"Neat, right?" Lava smiled. "The vines grow very quickly, so any damage to them will repair in about an hour." The water stream trickled and soon only a few drops ran down the vine into the mossy ground. "Or minutes," he added. "It's cool what new plants we can make."

Gelid couldn't squash her amazement. Nightwings created this plant as a way to naturally move water from the storage. Icewings didn't need as much water as much as the other dragons, apart from sandwings but even if they did she couldn't ever imagine the ice kingdom developing something like this. She wondered if they had made any other new plants with special and useful qualities.

Lava grabbed and lifted the bucket. "Hold still." He notified Gelid.

He flung the open top of the bucket at her without it leaving his claws and the water splashed over the side of her body and under her wings. The water was warm like the humid rainforest but clean, as Lava promised. Sure enough, her scales no longer had dirt over them, however she felt soaked. She wondered if she was cold enough for the water to freeze.

"That should do it." Lava put the bucket under another vine and slashed the end of it, drawing water. He waited until the vine repaired itself and then emptied the water over his gashed leg.

A pure black nightwing landed on a flat ground a tree's length away from them, talking to four other, smaller nightwings. There was something amiss about that nightwing, something Gelid couldn't ignore.

"Who's that?" She pointed at the black nightwing until Lava caught who she was talking about.

"That one? That's Diamondclaws. She's basically our mayor,"

"She sounds pretentious,"

"Yeah, she kind of does." He looked down at his talons and then stared off towards Diamonclaws. "She runs the entire village. You know, like what new sections of the forest to clear, or what new types of plants nightwings will grow, or what dragonets will learn in school. She's pretty amazing." smiled Lava.

Gelid thought she saw his scales go rosy under his eyes. "Did you know that she's Greatness's granddaughter?" He asked Gelid. "She's basically royalty and she's our mayor, sounds like the best coincidence to me."

Gelid stared at Diamondclaws. Could her royal blood tempt her to be queen of the nightwings? It would mean challenging Queen Firefly in any way that was fit and possibly a way that could get violent. Diamondclaws was bigger than Gelid herself but was definitely a bit smaller than Queen Blizzard. Could Diamondclaws win a fight with Queen Firefly if they chose that? Would the nightwings stay to live in the rainforest after that?

"Does Diamondclaws want to be queen then? Just by the way you're describing her she seems able to do so,"

"Oh, no, all the moons no. Glory offered her that almost a decade ago when she was queen of the rainforest but as you can see, Diamondclaws declined. She probably didn't want the responsibility and besides, Queen Firefly does a great job." Lava explained.

There was something about queens that made Gelid worried for a moment. Like as if there was something important that she was forgetting, as if she had misplaced her first-circle pendant again before the meeting of the icewing council; before sitting next to Queen Blizzard with almost a dozen other high-ranking icewings staring at her. What was she forgetting?

 _Oh!_ Gelid realised. "Oh no!" She looked towards the sea, or where she thought the sea was. The sky was a fire in a midnight desert.

"What's wrong? Did you see a viper? Did you get bitten by a viper? Are you alright?" Lava questioned hastily.

"No." Gelid shook her head. "I'm here because Queen Firefly sent me to get a special and important object. And I forgot all about it!"

"What kind of object?"

"I don't know and if I did I'm not sure I'm allowed to say," Lava let out a small "hmph" and shrugged. "Can you show me where your village blacksmith is? I've been wandering around trying to find it and so far I haven't."

"Of course, follow me." He flicked his tail.

Apparently, Gelid was entirely in the wrong area. Lava explained that the entire village was roughly the shape of a moon in their three-quarters transition. On one end were the houses, gardens, parks and schools, that took up one third of the entire village. The other side were the barracks, prisons, the nightwing hall and political buildings. And the centre was Diamond Square, where there were shops, markets, and where the nightwings all gathered together for the Winter-Spring celebrations.

They left the uncomfortable atmosphere of the houses and the prying eyes of the nightwings and headed closer towards the wall where clanging was heard. She guessed that was why the blacksmith was further away from the houses, lest to wake up any snoring nightwings.

"It shouldn't be busy now. Nightwings usually wake up right about now so the Square should be empty," Lava explained.

"You're awake," Gelid said, wondering if nightwings had some kind of trait that made them sleep during the day and wake at night. Perhaps only some nightwings didn't have that trait so they were picked for roles when the sun was in the sky. Maybe his mudwing blood made him awake during the day.

"I'm part of the day patrol so I sleep during the night - well, mostly during the night. Except tonight of course. I'm not missing the celebrations for the world." He purposefully knocked over a woven basket. A fox-like creature with a naked thin tail and small ears rolled out of it, and before it had the time to run, Lava scooped it up with his talons and threw it into his mouth.

Gelid heard Lava crunch at the bones. "What was that?" She wondered how Lava spotted the tiny animal.

"A wood rat. Pesky little things. Problem with living on the forest floor means that we have to deal with these things. They're also really smart. They've memorised the times when nightwings wake up and go to sleep. That's when they scavenge for food." He explained, carefully placing the basket upwards again as if he'd never knocked it over.

"You eat them?"

"No - I mean, I used to. When I was a dragonet I would go around the whole village looking for them. Mother didn't mind it much, except when I had so much fur between my teeth that she had to spend time picking it out. They're just a nuisance so if any nightwings catch one, they just eat them. No point wasting it or letting it go," Lava said. "I think the dragonets are starting to create rat hunting groups just for fun. Diamondclaws certainly wouldn't mind the idea."

The smell of something both savory and sweet filled Gelid's nose. It wasn't like the roasted camel she had earlier but it had a stronger scent that wafted under her nose. It was sweet, almost like a cactus fruit she ate while at Queen Thorn's Stronghold.

"And here's the blacksmith."

Thankfully, Lava pointed at a clanging store front, closer to the sugary smell.

It wasn't at all what Gelid imagined. The walls were specked with metal and had holes bigger than a dragons head and through them, Gelid saw a nightwing bigger than Diamondclaws hammering at a thin slice of orange metal. She felt the heat roast her scales as she and Lava stopped at the front. The nightwing just stood over the anvil, hammering, not yet acknowledging them.

"Excuse me," Gelid asked for the nightwing's attention.

The nightwing had black scales but a lighter grey underscales and wings. She slowly twisted her head at them and stared at Gelid with dark ocean-blue eyes. She snaked her forked tongue out for a second.

"Forgelight, I have been sent by Queen Firefly to retrieve an object of great importance. A gift." Gelid stated.

Silently, Forgelight placed the hammer in a slot of her buckle around her leg and made her way over to a metal safe that looked too big to carry. A small chained key from her buckle was pushed into a keyhole, turned and opened the safe. Forgelight ducked down, lifting a box made of polished wood in a mesh of rope, with a strap in her mouth. Placing it on the counter, Gelid noticed it had gold-lined inlay of a regal pattern, ovular but with nightwing spikes flaring outwards.

"Be careful with it," Forgelight said. "I'm not making another one and if you break it you're going to fix it." She said with a glare. A moment later she went back to hammering at the anvil.

"I guess you have to go now," Lava said to Gelid.

"I do, I can't keep Queen Firefly waiting and I promised my queen that I'd return when the moon rises,"

Lava nodded. "Keeping your queen happy," he echoed. "I can understand that. Can you visit me again? I really want to catch up with you...you know, if you ever have the time," he asked nervously.

"I promise." Gelid was about to prop the rope into her snout before wondering something. She looked at Lava, who was just a wing length away from her and walking away. "Wait, Lava," she called out. He paused and looked, confused. "I need to talk with you about something."

"But the important thing-"

"It can wait a few precious seconds." Gelid first looked around, seeing no other dragon apart from themselves and Forgelight. She beckoned Lava to follow her behind the blacksmith building and checked for dragons again.

Gelid deemed it safe, as long as they don't raise their voices. "Do you know Moonwatcher?" She asked in a whisper.

"You mean Moon?" He tilted his head. "Of course, every dragon in the rainforest knows her. She's the oldest seer we have. Did you know she was the first nightwing in two thousand years to have nightwing powers? She's so cool,"

Gelid found that fascinating but she had to force herself not to trail off. She trusted Lava, he was her friend and if there was danger at the celebrations then he should know about it.

"She had a vision of some dragon at the celebrations attacking another. Have you seen any white dragons recently?"

"A white dragon..." He pondered. "I don't think so. Other than yourself, of course. I guess there is Swan that I've seen come here a few times,"

She already knew about Swan. He seemed like a nice dragon but her suspicion of him only grew. "How about a red dragon?"

"There is a rainwing called Tomato but he's always patrolling along the border," Lava answered. She realised that he had the same guesses as she did. "What does this have to do with the attack?"

"Moon said that a white dragon would attack a red dragon somewhere dark, most likely during the night. But I remember that she said that it was hazy or cloudy and I noticed that the rock you build out of is...similar." She explained, gesturing to the rock and hoping her words weren't too confusing.

"I guess that makes sense." Lava looked at the ground. "I can keep an eye out in the village, if that helps. If I see anything suspicious then I can go to the guards," he said to Gelid. "But the rainforest should be the safest place in all of Pyrrhia. Have you seen all the guards? I haven't seen so many armed rainwings and nightwings in my entire life,"

"That's because all the queens will be here," She listed all their names and stated that they were already here. "Queen Firefly wouldn't risk one single talon not being checked."

"All the queens, wow, I mean - I heard that Firefly was inviting all the queens but I didn't actually think that all of them would come," he said. "But wouldn't that make the rainforest safer, because of all the different guards and stuff?"

"Perhaps," Gelid sighed. Maybe Moon and Lava were right. Maybe she was just being so paranoid that she was overthinking everything. Maybe Moon's vision wasn't going to happen today or tomorrow or next week. Maybe it might never happen. "But that wouldn't make an attack impossible, right?"

 _The dragon would have to be incredibly cunning and smart to pull it off._

* * *

On the way back, Gelid had time to think of what to do next after completing Queen Firefly's favour. She wondered if she could quickly scan the perimeter of Vine Square just to be sure but she remembered all of the guards that patrolled constantly. And she guessed there had to be more guards now, now that all the queens were settling in. Perhaps she could search behind every stall or little room for any illicit dragons. She remembered the storage room on the bottom layer. She didn't have the chance to look inside it when she followed Swan towards the stage or after when Queen Firefly asked for the favour.

Gelid decided a quick check wouldn't hurt, unless there truly was a dragon lurking in the room and attacked her when she found them. Was she the white dragon in the vision? Gelid would never attack another dragon unless it was an order or in defense but she had her orders to protect Queen Blizzard at all costs.

The noise of the Square finally hit her ears and every one of her scales stood up in anguish. She could stand the bright lights, the ice kingdom was always glowing anyway, but not the noise.

She spotted Queen Firefly sitting on the top layer, away from all the pavilions and staring down at all the stalls. Gelid landed beside her, thinking that Queen Firefly would be startled. Instead, she simply turned her head towards Gelid and then stood up with a fresh burst of energy.

"Oh! You're here! Thank goodness! I thought you might've gotten lost," Queen Firefly beamed.

Gelid carefully dropped the box and mesh of rope into her talons and gave it to Queen Firefly. "I got a little lost but nothing I couldn't handle, your majesty,"

"A thousand gratitudes, Gelid, I really owe you for this." She said, cutting the rope with one talon steadily until the box was free. "I told Queen Blizzard that you were doing something very important for me. At first I thought she'd yell at me for ordering you away without her permission but she was very understanding of it," Queen Firefly explained to Gelid.

"Thank you, your majesty." Gelid looked up to the canopy. The sky was an ocean of dark blue. She guessed the moon was up, not like she would've seen it anyway. She recalled Moon's comment that all the moons were black tonight, thus leaving the stars to flicker in the night sky.

Remembering her promise to Queen Blizzard, Gelid swiftly returned to the icewing pavilion. She met Queen Blizzard's inquisitive stare as she sat next to her folded wings.

"What's in the box?" Queen Blizzard asked, sounding as if her eyes had followed Gelid all the way to the nightwing village and back.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that it's very important," _And it's a gift for our tribe_ , Gelid thought but didn't say. Apart of Gelid wanted to make sure she would be surprised as much as Queen Blizzard when Queen Firefly revealed the contents of the box.

"You traveled all the way to the nightwing village and back and you have no idea what's in the box?" Queen Blizzard asked skeptically.

"Queen Firefly wouldn't say," At the time, though, Gelid did contemplate opening the box to find out but she'd have to cut the ropes to do it, immediately casting suspicion to Queen Firefly that she opened it.

Queen Blizzard left it at that.

Gelid noticed that all the tribal queens, except for Queen Firefly, were sitting in their pavilion and Diamondclaws sat in the nightwing pavilion with five other nightwings around her. Both Glory and Deathbringer were talking to Diamondclaws in a casual discussion, it seemed.

Gelid couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen, as if she felt the rumble of an earthquake or the howling wind before a snowstorm. Were the events of Moon's vision about to happen? Or did Queen Auklet's sour expression manifest a sudden rainstorm so the celebrations would be cancelled?

Suddenly, the screams of dragons near them startled Gelid but not enough to make her jump. She stood up instantly, gazing around until she spotted all of the dragons on the lower layer staring up the mudwing pavilion. Their pavilion only had the sandwing pavilion as neighbors but with all the sandwings stand along the walkway, Gelid couldn't catch what was going on.

She felt Queen Blizzard's wing brush her leg as she stood up.

Gelid extended her wing between her and Queen Blizzard. "You should stay here, away from the danger," Queen Blizzard nodded. Gelid twisted her head over her shoulder, calling out as she did. "Pale, come with me."

Pale was already standing and staring at the commotion, and willfully followed Gelid into the barrage of dragons.

They squeezed past the sandwings. She noticed two mudwings hovering in the air.

"Fire!" yelled a hovering mudwing.

"There's fire!" yelled the other.

"Every dragon out of the way!" Gelid shouted. The sandwings moved. Fire in the rainforest was like the desert summer in the ice kingdom. She had to stop the fire before it could spread and turn Vine Square into ashes. She smelt the smoke before she saw it.

The half of a lit torch flickered with orange heat on the platform, with the other half still standing upwards beside it. Three mudwings were too close.

"Every dragon move AWAY from the FIRE!" Gelid shouted again. She inhaled sharply and the mudwings quickly moved, beating their wings forward and moving backwards as soon as they realised what she was doing. She breathed ice on the fire, revealing charred wood when the orange fire disappeared. Gelid checked for any embers of fire.

Pale grasped her shoulder. "Good job," he commended with a smile.

"Gratitude, icewings." said Queen Ibis. She stared down at the black marks. Behind Queen Ibis was the smaller mudwing, Princess Willow. "Which one of you did this!" Queen Ibis demanded, looking at the small crowd of sandwings and mudwings.

"Was it you, sandwing?" Queen Ibis glared at the sandwing with sandy colours closest to her. The sandwing denied it, making Queen Ibis's expression of anger grow.

A mudwing with dark muddy scales and pale underscales about the same size as Princess Willow stuck his neck up. "I think it - it was me," he offered in an anxious tone. "I think I might have broke - broken it."

"Prince Beaver, do you know what kind of chaos you have just concocted?" Queen Ibis said.

"Yes mother," Prince Beaver sighed. "I didn't meant to break it, it's just..." he looked down at the broken torch. "I didn't think it'd break so easily. I just wanted a better look..."

"Don't worry your little mudwing brain, princeling," said a slightly golden sandwing with a burst of orange along her white wings. The sandwing was half a tail-length away from Gelid. Gelid wondered how she didn't notice this sandwing creep up next to her.

"I'll get another one," said the sandwing. She took the broken top of the torch off the ground and shook the half still sticking up until she lifted it and tucked the parts under her wing. Gelid noticed a small spiky green and pink ball roll out of it, which the sandwing quickly picked up. She started walking down the stairs to the second layer and then to the bottom layer.

"I don't have time to deal with you. Go sit next to your sister like a real royal mudwing." Queen Ibis ordered. Prince Beaver didn't argue and followed her orders. He sat next to Princess Willow.

Gelid noticed the small crowd of sandwings and mudwings disperse back to their pavilions. "Go back to Queen Blizzard," she said to Pale. "I'll be back shortly." She was going to take this opportunity to look at the storage room, which she presumed the sandwing was heading to.

"Where are you going?" Pale asked.

"I just need to check something." Gelid answered. This satisfied him enough and he retreated back to the icewing pavilion.

Gelid searched for the sandwing again. The sandwing was a little less than halfway down the stairs to the bottom layer. Gelid quickly followed her.

The storage room was opposite the stage, under the staircase. It was a large room filled with crates and boxes. One large crate was labelled "Lightbulbs" which Gelid noticed had a rainbow of glowing colours emanating from it. There were no boxes big enough to fit a dragon and the corners were blocked with the crates. If any dragon was hiding here then they'd have to be incredibly tiny. She noticed the sandwing rummaging from a long crate labelled "Torches".

The sandwing tucked a long torch under her wing and turned towards Gelid. Her eyes caught her and the sandwing jumped.

"Great moons, where did you come from?" asked the sandwing.

"From upstairs," Gelid answered.

"Oh, you're the icewing that put out the fire. That was very courageous of you," said the sandwing.

"I'm sure you would've put it out if you could,"

The sandwing barked a laugh. "Maybe. Say, you look familiar, have we met before?" The sandwing approached for a better look. She gazed down Gelid's wing.

Gelid was sure she'd never seen a sandwing like her. She felt warmth radiate the sandwing's scales. "I don't think so. Do you live in Queen Thorn's stronghold?"

"Uh, yes, I do, sort of," the sandwing pondered deeply.

"Maybe that's where you've seen me," Gelid suggested. "My name's Gelid, maybe that might help."

"Nope, not at the slightest." The sandwing shook her head. "Where's my manners, my name...My name is Amber."

The voice of another dragon stole her attention. "You two, Queen Firefly has ordered that all dragons exit this area. The celebrations are about to start." It was an icewing, the blu-ish icewing with the strange metal helmet between his horns. Now that he was closer, there was something familiar about this dragon.

"Well there was absolutely no point of me getting this." Amber said. She shrugged, taking the torch from under her wing and dropping it in the crate of torches.

Gelid sat back next to Queen Blizzard, staring down at the second layer. The stalls had packed up and dragons from all the tribes crowded on the platform, idly chatting next to each other. She then started picking dirt from her talons, then reminded of Moon's vision. She remembered the white dragon having long talons, not like hers but like... _like Queen Blizzard's_. Gelid realised. _She has long talons. Could she be the white dragon in the vision?_

Queen Blizzard wasn't completely white though. Her legs were white but her body slowly hued to a line vibrant blue on her back, next to a single line of completely white scales.

The strange icewing with the iron helmet walked past them again.

"Who's that icewing?" Gelid asked Queen Blizzard.

"That's Nimbus," Queen Blizzard replied.

Only high ranking icewings attended the celebrations with Queen Blizzard. Gelid was certain she'd never seen Nimbus around the palace before. "I've never seen him before,"

"He left the kingdom a few years ago and has only returned. I gave him the lowest rank I could muster, a place in seventh, his punishment for leaving the tribe like he did. But I did pity the decision. He follows orders extraordinarily well so I gave him a chance to prove himself," Queen Blizzard said. "That's why you've haven't seen him around."

Gelid understood that. She's giving him the chance to prove himself like she gave me the chance. She'd cry out in agony if she was in the seventh circle as an adult. Being in the same ranking as her father was not where she wanted to be, or in sixth where her mother was.

"He also reminds me of my brother, Prince North." Queen Blizzard added.

Perhaps that was why Nimbus looked familiar, he had similar scales an icewing descended from royalty.

Queen Firefly walked out of the rainwing pavilion and stood on her hind legs, flaring her blue wings to the crowd of dragons and those on the higher layer.

"Dragons!" Queen Firefly shouted proudly. Cheering suddenly exploded, lasting for a minute as Queen Firefly waved her talons for some quiet. "Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you for attending, for finding time in all of your busy schedules to attend the celebrations in our glorious rainforest. None of this would've been possible without my parents and previous ruling royalty before me, Queen Glory and King Deathbringer,

"They successfully brought the rainwing and nightwing tribes together, to work together, to live together and most importantly, to make the future together. Not without their share challenges of course. And as the heir and successor to the kingdom of the rainforest, I strive to do what they have done, to extend our talons of peace to all the tribes, even if it is one at a time.

"This is why I've brought you all here tonight, to celebrate the peace between all our tribes and our eagerness to move forward past every turmoil and every little problem, together!" Glory passed the wooden box to Queen Firefly.

"As my first official act of peace as queen of the rainforest, I want to present a gift to Queen Blizzard and the kingdom of the icewings. The Winter-Spring celebrations were created thirty years ago to this day, to celebrate the willingness of peace between the rainwings and nightwings to the icewings, between Queen Glory and Queen Snowfall, showing that despite the, quite literal, distance between our kingdoms, we both have strived for a better future. It is now that I want to thank them for this. A personal gift presented from myself"

Queen Firefly walked up to Queen Blizzard and carefully placed the box down. She opened it and carefully lifted a slightly blue silvery necklace with nine metal plates hanging from the circular chain.

"I present a necklace made of platinum, adorned with a single magma lava opal found only under a volcano not found anywhere else," Queen Blizzard ducked her head as Queen Firefly carefully put the chain over her head of spikes. Queen Blizzard lifted up, settling the plates of the necklace between her shoulders. Embedded on the middle plate was a large red-orange gem bigger than a dragons eye. On the plates next to it were smaller white-orange gems, and the gems continued to a white colour to the last plates on the edges.

Queen Firefly turned towards the crowd. "And lastly, I want to start the celebrations that we are so anxious about! I present to all of you, a dragon from our very own rainforest to start the celebrations tonight with a performance!" The crowd started cheering again, like a bunch of excited nightwing dragonets with the ability to read minds. "I present Swan of the rainwings!"

The dragons quickly turned their heads down to the stage. The curtains were pulled apart, showing the white rainwing sitting calmly with his wings stretched outwards in a cascade of pale colours, like the reflection of light in a white gem - like an opal. The noise slowly died down.

"Thank you, Queen Firefly," Queen Blizzard said softly. "I didn't prepare a speech but I should have said something,"

"It's the least I can do for you. Mind if I sit?" Queen Blizzard nodded, and Queen Firefly sat opposite Gelid next to Queen Blizzard.

Dark rainwings flew over the layers, picking up the colourful bulbs of light. The torches on the second layer were put out, so that the only sources of light were the torches above and below. A spotlight beamed on Swan.

Swan stood, walking to the very centre of the stage. His wings and ruff flickered gold, reflecting the light and casting it all over the podiums. The dragons ooo'd. He lifted, flapping his now white wings until he was twice as high as the highest layer.

One moment Gelid was staring at Swan, anticipating his next move, the next moment, her ears were ringing and smoke filled the sky. Explosions rocked the platform and Gelid felt her legs and all the way down her neck being stabbed by something thin and sharp. Dragons howled and screamed in every direction and worst of all, Gelid couldn't see anything. A dragon stepped on her tail and she jumped around, seeing nothing.

A voice yelled overhead. "It's the Talons of Power!"

 _The Talons of Power? Here? Now? I need to find them - no! I need to find my queen, I need to protect her. Where is she?_


	4. Chapter 3

Gelid wasn't sure what was going on. Or perhaps she was sure but didn't want to admit it to herself. She didn't want to admit that, one: she allowed this to happen because she was too lenient; two: she failed; and three: how on all of Pyrrhia Queen Blizzard was going to forgive her for this.

No, she wasn't going to focus on the future, she was going to focus on now where the real danger was.

Smoke filled her nostrils and she coughed, wheezing afterwards. It was impossible to see or even think through the grey smog. She held her breath, standing on her hind legs and using her tail to balance and created a gust with her wings. It cleared some of the smoke, enough for Gelid to see in the general vicinity around her. There were red splatters on the wood but she then realised that was only squished berries.

 _The vision,_ Gelid realised. _The white dragon must be Swan, he flew up into the air before all the explosions, before all of this happened._ She suspected Swan before, twice, but this sealed her belief that Swan was going to attack a red dragon.

What she couldn't figure was why? Why go to all the trouble of ruining the celebrations, bombing Vine Square and injuring other dragons just for one single dragon? Gelid knew that she wouldn't, if there was a dragon in her life that wronged her, she'd spend her energy on them rather than going to the lengths that Swan has.

 _Or he has multiple targets. Moon's vision showed Swan attacking that one red dragon but with all the moons black, what was stopping him attacking every other dragon?_ She panicked for a moment, realising that he could attack her with invisible scales like she knew rainwings were capable of.

 _He's in the Talons of Power. They don't need a target, just an opportunity to terrorise._

Two more explosions boomed from the other side of the square and more dragons screamed. A rainwing knocked Gelid over, her snout hitting one of the wooden pillars. She figured was still in the icewing pavilion but where were the other icewings?

Queen Thorn shouted above all the terror. "Dragons! To the skies! Oh death spit and yellow toads, WHAT IS THAT!" There was a brief pause before she started yelling again. "SMOLDER! You tailless tadpole! Stop worrying about me and fly!"

Flying above the haze wasn't the worst idea but Gelid wasn't going to move until she could find Queen Blizzard. She stood back up and tried to curl her claws into the wood to stabilise herself, coughing a few more times.

"Queen Blizzard!" She shouted into the air, hoping her queen could distinguish her voice amidst the chaos. She called out another time but she heard no reply.

A talon grabbed her shoulder, yanking her in a different direction. Through the smoke, she recognised Pale with the most worried look on his face ever seen on a dragon.

"Are you alright? Where's Queen Blizzard?" He asked hastily.

"I'm fine, I don't know where she is. I can't see anything through this smoke." She waved her talons, creating a hazy waterfall.

Pale beat his wings, clearing the air around them. "Neither," He said.

Gelid inhaled as much as she could knowing that smoke was only going to swallow them up again. "Swan is the one behind this. He's behind all the bombings and he's in the Talons of Power."

"Swan? No," He shook his head, his brows furling down towards the tips of his eyes. "It can't be, he's...he's not like that," his expression relaxed.

"It has to be! Think about it. He flew up before all the explosions, well knowing he was far enough. He could flush out all the dragons, picking them off one by one," Gelid argued.

"No. Trust me, it's not him. He's one of the last dragons to ever do such a thing, besides us." He added. " He has ties to a royal family, he's one of the most trusted dragons in all the rainforest!"

"Making dragons think that he didn't do it, deflecting blame," If Gelid had the kind of position that Swan had, she'd do the same if she wanted to.

"Stop, just stop," Pale said in a slightly irritated tone. "Let's get somewhere safe before pointing claws." He grabbed her shoulder again, urging her away.

Strong gusts rolled welcomed coldness over her scales as smoke moved like storm clouds around them. Pale stared at her with his mouth open, as if he wanted to ask "are you doing that?" and realising halfway through his sentence that her wings weren't moving. _No, I swear this isn't me._ But if it wasn't them flapping their wings and most of the dragons heard Queen Thorn (and honestly, she shouted really loudly) and flew up, then who was flying towards them?

Queen Firefly appeared as the smoke cleared around them like the sun during a ferocious snowstorm, hovering talons up from the wooden floor. Her face did not look happy but was a mix of both angry, worried and concentrated. Beside her was Queen Blizzard with small dots of blue blood down her side.

"Quickly! We need to find the others!" Queen Blizzard commanded them, still radiating her aura of icewing authority.

Gelid immediately breathed with relief. Her queen was safe, for now and she was here where Gelid could protect her like she swore she would.

Behind Queen Blizzard, Gelid saw one other icewing that accompanied them to the rainforest. "Where's Puffin and Squall?" She asked.

"Over here!" Pale indicated, clearing smoke with his wings as he stepped carefully. Gelid followed. She noticed that the smoke begun to raise and ease, showing more of the platform and the closest trees.

Two icewings were near the railing. One was on the floor with an uneasy expression, closed eyes and a wrinkled snout, as if he was holding back pain. The edges of his wing and half of his neck was black with small lines of blood running down to tiny pools. The other icewing sat next to him, tentatively stroking his spikes.

"What happened to Squall?" Queen Blizzard.

"He was closest to the bomb, your majesty," answered Puffin. "I think he saved our lives. I blew ice on his burns as quickly as I could but..." She sighed, looking down . "He's still in a lot of pain."

"I'm fine," said Squall. "I've had worse, I can-" He lifted himself with his leg that had no black scales, only to immediately collapse. Gelid saw that the entire half of his body was black and his scales were molded into odd swirls. Puffin attempted to catch his head but was too slow. Squall groaned, anchoring his only healthy leg beside his head and mumbled something under his breath.

"You're not fine." Queen Blizzard breathed deeply and then exhaled sharply through her nose. "Do you have any doctors?" She asked Queen Firefly.

"I do," she said to Queen Blizzard. "but with all this disorder it's going to be hard to find one. I'll see who I can find but firstly..." She looked at Squall. "Can you fly?"

"Yes," Replied Squall. Both Gelid and Puffin helped him stand, though, with his shaking legs, Gelid didn't think he'd get far without succumbing to the pain of his burns.

Once Squall showed that he was capable of flight, Queen Firefly told them to follow her. She directed them over the railing and down towards the forest floor where the darkness of the night ruled. Gelid praised the fresh air, breathing as if she'd been a seawing at sea for her entire life, flying into the skies for the first time. The ground below wasn't muddy but more like flat, trampled grass.

Above, Gelid spotted a few shapes bolting under the canopy. She only spotted them because of the small patches of the true night sky that painted the leaves, stars disappeared for a moment then reappeared as dragons darted past. She wondered if they were Queen Firefly's bodyguards like she heard Glory had when she ruled. Though, Glory probably still had at least one dragon protecting her. Gelid wished she had the scales to turn invisible, so that any dragons that would harm her queen would get a nasty face-full of icy claws when they least expect it.

Something moved in the corner of her eye. As Gelid was watching the sky, she forgot to check the ground for any danger. There was still the possibility of being attacked, especially if the rumours of about the army the Talons of Power had was true.

She scanned the trees, suddenly feeling as if the trees were growing bigger. There was nothing out of the ordinary but Gelid had to admit to herself that being on the rainforest floor was scary during the night.

If the Talons of Power were in the rainforest, attacking them, then how come she hadn't seen a hostile dragon yet? Perhaps they hadn't realised who Queen Blizzard was or who Gelid was, perhaps they had another target. The rainwing treasury perhaps? Gelid had heard rumours that although the rainwings didn't have a big treasury but they had the most exquisite and unique treasures unseen in any other place on the continent.

"Gelid," Queen Blizzard called.

Gelid was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realised that while she was thinking, Queen Firefly had unlocked a door that opened inwards from the base of the giant wood and vine wall. A dim sunny-light poured out, bringing shine to a rectangular patch of viridian grass. A pile of green leaves and thin vines were clumped beside the door. Gelid guessed that was the only thing that hid the door from the dangers of the world.

All the icewings already went inside, leaving herself, Queen Blizzard and Queen Firefly out in the darkness.

"What is this?" Gelid asked, taking a step.

"It's a safe room," Queen Firefly said concisely. "I had this built secretly for occasions such as this. Though." She looked down, drawing circles in the grass. "I never thought I'd actually use it."

A slight crackle like steps on frozen dirt alerted her, flaring her ears in a flash that made them ache afterwards. At first she thought it might've been wing beats from the dragons above still fleeing from the danger but then she swore she saw something beyond the trees around them.

Queen Blizzard called her name again and beckoned her inside the safe room.

"Yes, my queen." Gelid said, walking towards the door but not without a few more valuable seconds of scanning the forest. Nothing. She was disappointed but also glad that there wasn't any danger and at the same time also skeptical knowing that her imagination never activated at times of stress and worry.

Gelid stepped into the safe room after Queen Firefly. The door was thin compared to the thick exterior wall, making a short hallway to the actual room. Stepping in and seeing the room for the first time, it was much more like a room meant to be hidden rather than a safe room.

The interior was made of light-grey bricks. Some kind of creeping vine grew on the ceiling hung by hooks with glowing sandy flowers. They weren't as bright as the light bulbs she saw in Vine Square but they were bright enough to see. On her right were water vines coming from the top of the wall and coiled in bowls on the floor. Dried fruit and small slices of meat were stocked in a pantry. Next to the pantry was a small weapon rack consisting of two spears, a sword, two daggers and five metal hoops with sharp edges.

Queen Firefly was in corner of the opposite end of the room where she had her talons clambering in a small cabinet.

A slight draft of wind brushed over her tail, alerting her that the door was still open. She turned around in the small space and closed the door before joining the other icewings.

Gelid wondered if the other dragons were safe. Did Queen Firefly have safe rooms like these all over Vine Square? Did she already lead them to safety like she did with them, or were they still flying around in a panic? Had any dragons died? She wished she didn't think of that last question, knowing that it was inevitable for a life to be lost. But her job was to make sure one particular dragon wouldn't lose their life - Queen Blizzard.

"Here, put this over his burns," Said Queen Firefly. She was beside Squall, who was lying on his stomach. She handed Puffin a small, opened jar of a green jelly-like substance that reminded Gelid of green frogs she saw perched on some of the rainforest trees. Puffin looked at the jar questioningly, then shrugged and dipped her talons into the green substance. Squall lifted his wing, showing the entire underside of his wing and body was all black. Gelid wondered how he was able to fly. Puffin slathered the contents of the jar over his scales, Squall biting his tongue as she did.

Pale watched attentively with a look of worry beside Queen Firefly.

"I have to go out. Mother - Glory and Deathbringer are helping me. Moons know what might've happened if they weren't here." Queen Firefly said, looking down gloomily and pacing towards the door. Gelid quickly hopped out of the way. "If only I just listened to Moon. She was right. She is always right," She said in grumble but loud enough that Gelid wasn't sure if she was talking to herself.

"It's not your fault, your majesty," Gelid assured, unsure of what else to say.

Queen Firefly shot a small smile at her. "I can't think of the past now." She lifted her neck from her mopey pose, as if she found the confidence in her blood once again. "Or the future. I need to do what I need to, now. Right now." She stated, then twisted her head to look at all the icewings. "I need all of you to stay here while I go make sure everyone else is safe. I'll be back as soon I can." And she left, opening and then closing the door behind her.

How long would that take? They'd be in the safe room for hours if Gelid's calculations were accurate. Not to mention that Swan was a rainwing with the ability to turn invisible - he could attack anyone and then disappear into the night sky, only to attack again, again and again.

Queen Blizzard's voice pulled Gelid from her thoughts. "Gelid, you're bleeding," She said, caringly.

 _I am? Where?_ Thinking of it now, Gelid felt a stabbing and aching pain down her neck. She ran her talons over, soon verifying that she was bleeding with the trails of blue blood over her claws. She noticed earlier, felt it, but soon forgot about her own injuries when she was too busy worrying about Queen Blizzard.

Gelid caught herself gazing over Queen Blizzard's scales, only realising it when something looked out of place on her scales. There were trails of blue blood down her side and down the centre of her neck but there was something else. Something, like needles or the tiniest spears delicately crafted by a little scavenger was stuck in and between her scales.

"What are those?" Gelid walked closer, wondering if it was merely her imagination. After meeting Queen Blizzard's confused look, she pointed at the area on and behind Queen Blizzard's shoulders.

Queen Blizzard's eyes widened, stricken with newfound worry and confusion. She reached with her other talon but fell short.

"Allow me," Gelid offered. She nodded and Gelid examined the odd object. Closely, it was a small needle. She pulled it out, carefully, with Queen Blizzard almost hissing back at her. It was twice as long as one of her claws and narrowly thin.

She'd seen something like this before but where? Whatever she was trying to remember it felt like it was something she'd seen recently. What was it, and why did Gelid think that it was more dangerous than it seemed?

She recognised Pale's steps striding towards them. "What's-" His sentence was stopped abruptly. Gelid twisted to find out what made her friend stop talking. Pale was frozen. Or at least, he looked frozen. His mouth was still open as if he was going to start talking again but he had a talon on his neck like he was just bitten by a bug and went to squash it.

"Pale?" Gelid asked anxiously. His eyes closed and he collapsed onto the floor. Puffin stared at Pale and then at Gelid with the same perplexed expression that Pale had before he fell.

The other icewing that Gelid didn't know the name of hurried to Pale, lifting the talon over his neck and stared, and then pulled a small metal dart from Pale's neck. It glimmered in the dim lighting as the icewing examined it.

 _ZZZT_

The icewing fell, dropping the dart to roll across the floor.

Gelid took a step towards the door to glance at the dragon that threw those darts. A small green and pink ball rolled from the doorway, startling Gelid and she jumped back. All her scales felt as if they wanted to jump off.

 _Oh._ Gelid realised as she stared at the ball. "Oh NO!" _I know exactly what that is._ "Dragonsmoke cactus!" She pounced back towards Queen Blizzard and spread her wings.

Dragonsmoke cactus was the cousin of the infamous dragonflame cactus. It still exploded with seed needles like the its cousin but created clouds of smoke instead of fire. She guessed that was what caused all the smoke in Vine Square.

An orange dart hit the small cactus ball and it exploded. The needles instantly dug themselves into Gelid's scales and wing, and she felt woozy. Smoke filled the room and Gelid suddenly felt like she wanted to sleep. _No! I need to protect my queen!_ She hoped that she took the majority of the needles so that her queen was safe from the cactus.

Gelid fell. The impact pushed some of the needles further but the pain slowly numbed until she couldn't feel anything. Maybe it was the smoke constantly rolling or her eyes turning dizzily in her skull. Either way, her vision was darkening and soon, darkness was all she could see.

* * *

Gelid was worried, anxious, slightly scared and all those things she shouldn't be.

"Hold on to your scales, Gelid, be glad that you get to keep them," said her mother almost every morning when she woke up.

But it wasn't morning anymore, so why, why was she so anxious?

All the dragonets were called to line up in the courtyard, including herself, out of no notice. She walked carefully, gazing over her name in the rankings wall, wondering where her name was now. It was first in the seventh circle to her surprise - though she knew it wouldn't stay, her name constantly shifted in the rankings.

Last in the sixth circle was an icewing that she barely recognised and sat beside him. Though, this icewing was almost two years older than her and she felt like a claw to a talon next to him. His eyes never once glanced at her and he sat perfectly, like any icewing should be when adults were consulting them.

She turned her head forward like his and sat, though, her wings constantly twitched, making it difficult to copy the same position as the icewing next to her.

 _Four minutes._ Gelid counted, distracting herself. _Four minutes for all the dragonets to line up_. And she waited for an entire winter, constantly stopping herself from looking around for her parents in case they were watching all the dragonets line up.

Three icewings arrived in triangle formation, sweeping all the attention of both the dragonets and the adults. They stopped in the middle of the courtyward where the icewing at the front quickly gazed over all the dragonets in one exalted turn of her head. Her scales were a light-blue and Gelid found the impression that she was a dragon of great importance. Then she noticed the silver crown atop her head and realised exactly who that dragon was. _It's Queen Blizzard._

 _What's happening? Has something bad happened? Did a dragonet die? Has a dragonet done something bad? Is that dragonet me?_

"I am announcing a change in the rankings..." Queen Blizzard trailed off in her majestic voice.

 _Oh, it's just a rankings change._ Thankfully it wasn't Gelid's ranking that changed but another icewing whose ranking fell from third to the very bottom of the seventh circle. She was very much relieved that it wasn't her this time. Her ranking changed constantly enough that there were no important announcements for her, not that she minded it much. There'd have to be at least two announcements every week to accommodate her rank changes.

"And lastly, I am going to inspect some of you. From first to last," Queen Blizzard announced.

 _Inspection!_ Gelid's scales trembled, making herself want to stand and fly away. Inspecting the dragonets wasn't something that the queens did often, or at all for some queens. But she heard it was one of the easiest ways for some dragons to raise or drop in the rankings and all it was was just for the queen herself to check how neat dragonets scales were or how 'perfect' their position was.

She wasn't sure she'd be able to keep herself steady enough for Queen Blizzard to gaze over her.

Queen Blizzard started at the icewing that was first in the rankings and slowly walked down the line of trembling icewings. She waited for three winters, trying to breathe as discretely as possible to calm her nerves. Adult dragons were also watching, which didn't help.

She closed her eyes, imagining herself as a proud icewing with a high ranking and a perfect pose - an adult that was respected the way she wanted to be. But then she opened her eyes, meeting the deepest ocean blue eyes she'd ever seen. Queen Blizzard's eyes.

"You," said Queen Blizzard.

From that point, Gelid was beyond trembling. She froze, hoping that she was talking to the icewing with the perfect pose next to her. But Queen Blizzard's eyes were fixated on her.

"Stand and step forward," instructed Queen Blizzard.

None of the other icewings followed her instructions, so the instructions were meant for her.

 _Breathe, calm, just be yourself. It's only the queen of the icewings talking to you, pretend she's done it before. Yeah, do that, Gelid, pretend to be the dragon you want to be - a dragon both as respected and scary as her._

Gelid breathed carefully and stood. Her legs weren't shaking, which was a good sign. She stepped forward, ignoring all of the dragon eyes on her.

"What's your name?" asked Queen Blizzard.

 _This is it. Every dragon is going to know my name after today. Don't muck it up._

"Gelid, your majesty," Gelid responded, in the calmest voice she could muster. Was she supposed to bow? She had no idea.

Queen Blizzard nodded approvingly. "Come with me." she said to Gelid, before raising her head to shout. "All dragons dismissed!"

Gelid wondered why Queen Blizzard wanted her to follow. What would she want with a four-year old dragonet? And why her? There were plenty of other four-year old dragonets higher up than her. Why did she suddenly become so special?

Queen Blizzard led her towards the palace as the beating of wings filled the air. Gelid hoped Queen Blizzard wasn't speaking because she couldn't hear anything besides the rumble of wings. Could Gelid ask questions? Was she allowed to ask her queen? Was that disrespectful?

Finally, they reached the formal entrance into the palace. A third-circle guard outside adjusted his pose as soon as he saw Queen Blizzard. Gelid stayed behind Queen Blizzard's tail, wondering if that was appropriate or if she was supposed to be beside her.

"Your majesty, Queen Blizzard." He bowed deeply and then shot a glance at Gelid, assessing her scales. "Is the dragonet authorised in the palace?"

"She's with me," replied Queen Blizzard.

The guard let them in - not that he could argue with Queen Blizzard if he could manage to do that.

Gelid had never been in the palace before so she couldn't help but gaze around. The walls of ice were bright and sparkly, like the ripple of the ocean waves when the sun was highest. The icy floor was perfect, flat and clean. Cascades of snowflakes of different patterns and sizes decorated the walls and from the ceiling hung a giant chandelier.

As she was admiring the ceiling, her eyes dropped down to the middle of the wall and she froze. Decapitated icewing heads pointed outwards from the wall. But they weren't entirely gruesome. Their heads were clean and stared at the opposite side of the wall as if they were still alive. Some had their respective crowns atop their head. She spotted one with a necklace adorned with long dragon teeth.

They were midway through the main room when Gelid had the courage to ask. "Excuse me, your majesty." Gelid interjected suddenly and bowed as respectfully as she could. Queen Blizzard paused and stared at her as if she just broke an icicle.

"I was wondering why I'm here."

"I was wondering when you were going to have the courage to ask." Queen Blizzard said with a small smile - or perhaps it was smirk. "I suppose now is as good as time can permit to explain to you."

 _Explain to me what? Am I in trouble?_

"You're not in any kind of trouble." Queen Blizzard said to her, as if she was reading Gelid's mind. "I've called upon you because I am in dire of a dragon who can do something very important for me. An important job. A job that is both dangerous and equally rewarding, if you think you're up to it."

 _The queen is giving me...a job? An important job?_ "Why me?" Gelid asked.

"Because I've observed that you're a dragon of great patience and determination. A dragon who wants to better herself because she knows she can. A dragon that - although has endured many setbacks - can do great things in her life."

All Gelid's worry washed away. She felt proud, confident and for once, she smiled, flustered at the words Queen Blizzard described her as. She felt as if she wanted to excuse herself for a moment and fly to her parents' house and yell at them _"Queen Blizzard called me everything you've always wanted to be! I'm better than the both of you and I don't need you two anymore! I don't need either of you telling me what I'm not - I know what I'm not. I'm a not a disappointment like you. I'm an icewing. An icewing who will do great things."_

"But I warn you that it's not an easy job and not one that you're ready for now. Yet. But I rest all my beliefs that you will train hard," Queen Blizzard said. "I will constantly be watching you and assessing your strengths and weaknesses."

"Your majesty, I believe that you can count on me. I can do this," She proudly said, feeling like the dragon she'd always wanted to be.

"Just the words I wanted to hear." Smiled Queen Blizzard. "Very well. Your training starts first thing tomorrow. And for now, the palace will be your home." She gestured to the palace and the ice around them. "And it will be your home for as long as you need it to be."

"I won't let you down."

From that point, Gelid never saw her parents again but it wasn't like she cared. Queen Blizzard stole all her dedication and her loyalty. She never belittled Gelid or called her a disappointment. Gelid trained as hard as she could, accomplished tasks to the best of her ability and rose in the rankings faster than she could fly. For once, she felt like nothing could ever hold her down or stop her, and she had her queen to thank for that.

Queen Blizzard was everything to her and more. No way was any harm going to her queen without going past Gelid first - and she wasn't going down without a fight.

And six years later, Gelid was everything she wanted to be. She was by her queen's side all the time, protecting her and appointing to her needs. Life couldn't get better.

* * *

Gelid awoke to a haze covering her eyes and something touching her neck. She grumbled, struggling to remember what just happened and why she was there. Then she did.

She and a small group of icewings were attending the Winter-Spring celebrations in the rainforest. Moon's vision. Swan. The nightwing village. Lavalicker. The fire started by the mudwing prince. The weird icewing, Nimbus. The speech and the gift. Then the explosions. They were hiding in a safe room until everything calmed down. Squall was injured. Pale and the other icewing collapsed. Then the dragonsmoke cactus.

All the events flooded back to her.

"Wake up, Gelid. Don't you dare fall back asleep. I am your queen and you will listen to me."

Gelid tried to say that she was fine but her words came out as a slurred jumble of words. She tried to stand, feeling all the pain settle into her scales as she flattened a talon on the floor to hoist herself. She felt her wing brush another icewing, which she assumed was Queen Blizzard. _I must protect my queen. No matter what. I need to protect Queen Blizzard. The Talons of Power are here._

"Quickly, get up. We need to check on the others," Queen Blizzard said. She carefully stepped over Gelid's tail and hurried over to bodies on the floor through the smog. _No, get back behind me._ She tried to say but couldn't. How long was she out for?

A body entered as a dark silhouette in the smoke and stopped close to Gelid. Gelid wondered how she couldn't hear the dragons footsteps. She hoped it was Queen Firefly but the more she stared, the more she realised that this dragon looked much bulkier with bigger shaped wings and broader legs.

The dragon waved through the smoke and stepped forward, peering her unusually thick and long neck through the smoke. It was a rainwing. A rainwing with lavender scales down her neck, a golden crown of scales between her long, straight horns that was similar to Queen Firefly. But her eyes were black, which wasn't typical rainwing eyes. Could rainwings change the colour of their eyes?

Queen Blizzard froze, staring at the unknown dragon with the spikes on her tail raised.

"Hello, auntie," said the big rainwing. Through the smoke, Gelid spotted that one of her legs had white icewing scales with some kind of wide and flat copper sheet above her wrist.

"You miss me?" asked the rainwing, her scales changing to the most vibrant red that Gelid had ever seen.

"Mist?" Queen Blizzard croaked.

The rainwing lunged at Queen Blizzard without warning, leaping over the icewing bodies in perfect arc and stuck her talons out. Queen Blizzard attempted to avoid the claws by jumpng backwards but was too late. The rainwing pushed Queen Blizzard to the floor. The rainwing pinned her and flared her teeth to bite, only to be thrown off into the weapons rack. They both got back up. The rainwing grabbed a sword off the ground.

Gelid forced herself to stand, ignoring the sensation that one of her ankles were twisted. She leaped at the rainwing, roaring in fury and she stuck her claws behind the rainwing's shoulders. The rainwing roared and struggled, shaking Gelid off. Gelid managed to kick the sword from the rainwing as she landed on her feet.

The rainwing flared her wings in a red sunset, snarling at Gelid and Queen Blizzard as she assessed both of them. Cornered. The rainwing spun around, her tail hitting Gelid across the snout and almost to the floor. She recovered. The rainwing had slashed three cuts across Queen Blizzard's neck in the short time it took for Gelid to recover.

She pushed the rainwing but further than she expected and she almost slipped. She avoided a claw swipe but was then twacked with the dragon's wings. Stunned, Gelid stumbled and fell again, shaking her head to make the headache go away faster.

Queen Blizzard leaped at the rainwing but then froze in midair as the rainwing lifted her talon with the bracelet, pointed at Queen Blizzard. Gelid thought that she was hallucinating it but the back of the room was clear of smoke. Queen Blizzard was floating in midair, no wingbeats, nothing supporting her. Nothing. How was that possible? And what in Pyrrhia was going on?

The rainwing barked a laugh and then threw her talon towards the wall. Queen Blizzard followed the movement of the talons and was thrown to the wall in a loud, almost bone-breaking thud. The rainwing simply walked over, pinning down her back legs, her shoulder and then her neck with a talon. Gelid felt powerless but she had to try. She stood up, almost stumbling over again but secured herself.

"Not a step further or I swear she's dead," threatened the rainwing, staring at Gelid with ferocity and thunder.

She froze. What was she supposed to do?

 _Who is this dragon? How is she so good at fighting? And...and why does she want to kill Queen Blizzard? Is she a Talons of Power? What should I do?_


	5. Chapter 4

What was Gelid supposed to do? She could risk it and attack the hostile rainwing. The rainwing was big, bigger than her and almost as big as Queen Blizzard, and with rippling muscles too. Gelid had never seen a muscular rainwing before.

Maybe she could wait for the rainwing to let her guard down.

Queen Blizzard lifted her head up to peer at her attacker but her snout was pushed back to the floor and she winced.

"Mist!" Queen Blizzard cried. "What are you doing! I - I thought you were dead!"

Mist? _The icewing and rainwing hybrid, born from a rainwing mother and a royal icewing prince. The only heir to the throne...But she died four years ago. They never found her body but she's been gone for so long._

"You knew exactly where I was, you silver scaled sack of seal blubber," Mist hissed loudly, with a ripple of crimson scales down her neck and tail. Gelid had never heard any dragon use a tongue of words such as those that Mist said, especially to Queen Blizzard.

"You kept me in a prison. You should've put a guard with a bigger head than that sandwing," Mist added.

"Prison? What in three moons are you talking about?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"The one you put me in. WHAT OTHER PRISON DO YOU THINK I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Mist snarled. Her talon moved from Queen Blizzard's snout to her neck and it looked as if Mist was about to dig her claws in.

Gelid couldn't let that happen. She took a step. "Wait! You're a princess, right?" She interrupted, receiving a deathly cold glare from Mist. Now she looked as if she wanted her claws on Gelid but Gelid had to stand her ground. "You can't fight Queen Blizzard like that. You need to partake in the Royal challenge if you want to challenge the current queen for the throne."

That was logical to her. Mist was the only living heir currently - no matter how much of her blood was royal, she was still the daughter of a prince and the niece of the queen.

"I don't want the throne! I want revenge! Now shut your snout!" Mist growled.

Gelid couldn't find the urge to protest - to find another word to say. Was she finally intimidated by this dragon? Was that the feeling in her throat that she couldn't describe? _She must be disappointed in me right now,_ Gelid thought, both wishing to have nightwing mind-reading to read Queen Blizzard's mind but also not, just hoping that Queen Blizzard wasn't critisizing her. _I'm trying_. Why couldn't she just do her freaking job like she trained so long for?

Mist's eye twitched at Gelid. "Why did you kill North?" She asked into Queen Blizzard's ear. "Were you afraid he'd convince me to challenge you? Was that it?"

"North?" Queen Blizzard said, confused, then straightening her face before she spoke. "He's my little brother. I'd never hurt him! Or you! I - I care about you, Mist. When Boreal died..." She hesitated to keep speaking and momentarily turned her face away.

Gelid understood why. Boreal was her mate long ago. Queen Blizzard wanted him not because he was a first circle dragon but because they were great friends. But then he went missing and the entire kingdom froze the air to look for him. His body was found washed up on the icy water shores. He supposedly drowned.

"I realised that I couldn't have dragonets, not with any other dragon, not when it didn't feel right," Queen Blizzard said to Mist. "But when I heard North and Hibiscus were having a dragonet, I had hope. Hope that their dragonet would be stronger than me and not make the same mistakes as I did."

Mist grumbled something, turning her head away.

"And I was right. You have to believe me, Mist. I don't know what has happened to you in the last four years...but I had nothing to do with it."

After a long, silent moment, Mist took her talons off Queen Blizzard and paced past Gelid, almost stepping on her tail, grumbling. Gelid quickly considered arresting Mist but she figured Queen Blizzard wouldn't appreciate that her niece would be attacked after being spared her life. Instead, she helped Queen Blizzard stand.

Looking at her scales now, Mist had one small side of her body covered in white splotches of icewing scales, including a wing and a leg. There were splotches down her neck too and around her small crown of icewing spikes behind her head.

Mist was a short distance from the entrance. Gelid thought she was planning to escape but she was just staring at the two unconscious icewings. Her voice broke the silence. "I'm... _sorry_ ," Mist said in the least genuine tone Gelid had ever heard. "I used to low sedative on these two." Her talons lifted, showing the metal dart and then dropped it on the floor with a soft clang. "They should wake up soon."

After helping Queen Blizzard up, Gelid finally realised that all the smoke had cleared. She spotted Puffin and Squall on the ground sleeping soundly next to each other. Gelid was so distracted about protecting Queen Blizzard that she forgot to check on them. At least Squall didn't have his expression of pain but looked mostly calm in his sleep.

"I dipped the dragonsmoke cactus in the same liquid before it exploded. That's why these two are sleeping." Mist waved her talon at Puffin and Squall. _And that's why I fell asleep too. Good thing I didn't stay under for very long._

Mist grabbed a cloth from the top shelf of the pantry, slashed a water vine and ran the cloth under until it was damp. She hurried to Queen Blizzard and gave it to her, and Queen Blizzard quickly slid it over the blue trails down her scales. Gelid stepped away to offer some space but not too far. She watched Mist carefully.

Everything fell quiet, quiet enough to hear the sleeping icewings' deep breathing. Which was why Gelid heard two voices outside approaching the safe room. All her scales stood up. One voice was eerily familiar but the other wasn't.

"So do you think she actually did it?" asked the familiar voice.

"She's like, the strongest and scariest dragon I've ever seen. Smart too. I'm glad she doesn't want to kill us," Said the other.

"I mean she was close to doing it. Also, that was, without a doubt, the most terrifying and awesome thing I've ever done in my entire life. Let's do more espionage things."

"It's a little dangerous, though, we could actually get killed doing it."

"Whatever."

"But it was bit thrilling."

The dragon laughed. "And when you shouted 'It's the Talons of Power', I full on lost it. Like, I've never seen so many dragons scream in my life. It was so funny."

Two sandwings entered the room. One she recognised was Amber but the other was a strange sandwing with large wings and had bronze, sandy scales and red scales down his spine. He had no barbed tail. They both stared at Mist, then at Queen Blizzard and then at Gelid.

"This is awkward," Amber said. "Sooooo I'm guessing either something good happened or something bad happened." She said to Mist.

"Take your pick," Mist replied.

"Oh hey," Amber said to Gelid. "There's that heroic fire-putting-out dragon. Hey there. Didn't think you'd see the last of me, did ya?"

"You!" Gelid growled. "You were apart of this?"

"Yep!" Amber said, flinging her snout into the air confidently. "You totally fell for my act. I'm the best. And by the way, I did see you walk down the stairs, I just had to keep my little act up."

"Why you-"

Mist grabbed her shoulder and then her neck, turning her to meet Mist snout to snout. "Touch them and I'll rip all your talons off," Mist warned sternly, then letting go of Gelid.

"Hah!" Amber barked. "Can't touch me now, frosty!"

Gelid had to fight all of her instincts to stop herself from starting a physical conflict with Mist. She already didn't like this dragon, princess, hybrid, whatever. How could Queen Blizzard trust Mist? How could any dragon trust Mist?

"So it wasn't my aunt who wanted me imprisoned," Mist said to the sandwings. "I assume you two have some kind of input you'd like to share?"

The bronze sandwing ran a talon over his head. "Yeah...about that-"

Amber interrupted, standing in front of the bronze sandwing. "I just want to quickly say that it was all Hyena's idea and that we didn't have a say over it. Any of it. So please, do not be mad at us. I really don't want to be the victim of your mad face," she said sincerely.

Gelid wondered if these sandwings were afraid of Mist and equally respected her. Why did they help her?

"You're only telling me this now?" Mist scowled. She walked up to the two sandwings and glowered. The both of them looked down, frightened.

 _Telling her what now?_

"Well, we were kind of...scared of you, after you attacked Hyena like that," said the bronze sandwing, drawing a line on the floor with a single claw. "What choice did we have?"

"You're going to tell me exactly what Hyena's idea was. Right now," Mist demanded.

The sandwings looked at each other, whispering. Amber sighed and then started to explain.

* * *

 _Four years ago..._

Amber liked the sun, the sand, the dunes and of course, the sun. The warmth of the sand baked her heart, making her feel so comfortable. But today, just this particular day, she didn't want to be out in the sun. For once she wanted to stay indoors, away from all the danger, away from all the bloodshed. The Great River War ended almost one and a half decades ago, so why, why were dragons still fighting?

Because it was the freaking Talons of Power and for some reason they never died. They only gathered in the shadows, plotting, scheming and then attacking. And the deserts' will never feel safe like Amber wanted it to be.

"The coast is clear." Hyena said. He was scouting the tip of the dunes.

Torrid supposedly saw some kind of fight when he was flying last night. He told Hyena and the next Amber knew, Hyena formulated the plan of investigating in the dim hours of the morning where they could see and have some kind of night cloak if there was any danger.

Hyena scrambled over the dunes. Amber and Torrid followed. The desert rolled for ages and ages. Amber liked that. She could walk for hours and hours just to clear her head of all her thoughtless clutter. But today, walking was the last thing on her mind.

"Where did you say the fight was?" Hyena asked. Torrid quickened his pace so that he was beside Hyena.

"It was around here." Torrid looked up the sky, his smooth rusty underscales glimmering softly in the brief seconds it felt the sun..

"What tribes?" Hyena pressed.

"I think I saw a skywing and an icewing. But the icewing flew off," Torrid briefly described.

The sun flew higher, enough for Amber to appreciate the golden glow of the horizon and waking up early. Three moons, she hated waking up early.

Suddenly, on the bottom of a dune, the peaceful sand was interrupted by the gleam of white reflection. An icewing lay motionless on his wing in the sand.

"Mmmhmm, this icewing definitely flew off," Amber commented, receiving a low grunt from Hyena. Torrid showed his usual expression of: "I hate you but I also love you because you're like my sister but I also really hate you". Amber chuckled. Hyena slid down the sand, letting it take him down instead of going to the effort of walking.

Amber followed.

Hyena examined the icewing body, lifting the icewing's arm and then the head to inspect it. "Dead," He announced.

"Oh, thanks for the clarity," Amber said. Hyena ignored her. "So what do you think happened to him?" She asked, looking at the dead icewing.

"A fight. Geez, Amber, where are your eyes?" Torrid replied with a smirk from the top of the dune.

"Down here, unlike yours."

"Alright, enough you two," Hyena ordered in his usual "I'm your superior and I'm caring for the both of you. So don't you make me rip your tails off to eat for dinner" tone. Not that he'd ever say that before but Amber felt as if he'd say it very, very soon.

"Whoever attacked him will probably be back." Hyena lifted the icewings head, high enough for both Torrid and Amber to see a disgusting black burn down the centre of his head. Yeesh. That was something Amber wished she hadn't seen but at the same time she found it fascinating.

"So we should probably leave, right?" Torrid asked anxiously.

"Wrong. You two are going to wait here for the dragons while I go look for any other bodies," Explained Hyena. Torrid sighed.

"Why us two?" Amber asked.

"Because the both of you work better together whereas I work better alone. You two hide in the sand a distance away. If any dragons look like they'd be in the Talons of Power then knock them out and put them in the prison." Hyena told them.

"I'm not passing this opportunity..." he muttered, slowly spreading his wings and lifting into the air.

For once Amber was happy to do as he asked. It was nothing less of pleasantry to sink her scales into the sand and rest in the warmth

For hours too. For hours they sat in the sand with Amber wondering if Hyena was right or wrong to assume that a dragon would inspect the body.

Just as Amber contemplated digging herself out of the sand and leaving, a dragon with pale purple and white scales flew overhead and landed by the dune before slipping down.

Torrid lifted his head from the sand, shaking the small grains from his neck and head. "You see that?" He asked, staring towards the strange visitor.

"Shucks, I don't know, Torrid, my eyes are down here." Amber shook the sand from her scales. "But that dragon definitely looks weird. Talons of Power?" She suggested.

"She's not wearing a cloak."

"It's day. Wearing a black cloak in the middle of the desert is like standing next to a giant sign saying 'I'm in the Talons of Power. Please find me suspicious and kill me because I'm a terrorist'."

"Fair enough." Torrid nodded. "But I'm not sure. Maybe we should wait for a more...shady looking dragon." He suggested.

Amber had to admit that she was sick waiting in the sand for hours. Don't get her wrong, she liked being in the sand but not for hours doing absolutely nothing.

"You did not just make that pun – never mind. Just give me the bat. I'll do it."

Amber lifted her talons and pushed herself from the sand, which sifted down all her scales and dropped the feeling of being weighed down. Torrid shifted the wooden bat towards her and pressed it into her talon. He dragged himself from the sand, slowly.

Amber hushed him, fearing that he was making too much noise.

The strange dragon was still looking down at the icewing's body. Amber guessed that she was waiting for other dragons to arrive. Quickly and silently, Amber bolted across the dune that separated herself and Torrid from the unknown dragon. She met the bigger dragon's surprised face and then threw the blunt bat sideways, hitting the dragon's head. The dragon slumped over into the sand.

"Hah! I did it!" Amber shouted to Torrid. Torrid still had his back legs and tail in the sand, quickly rising and rushed to Amber's side.

He peered over the dragon's body and pointed at one of her shoulders, her shoulder twitched and he jumped back, startled by the sudden movement.

"Not to worry little sandwing. I hit her pretty hard in the head. She should be out for a couple of hours," Amber explained, fighting the urge to pat Torrid's head. "Now we just need to drag her back to base. How long do you think that might take?"

Torrid shrugged. He carefully grabbed the dragon's talons and started to walk backwards, shortly dropping the limp limbs in to the sand. He huffed, as if already falling to exhaustion.

"She weighs a ton! How are we going to drag her back like this?" Torrid asked. His gaze lifted to the sky. "Maybe we should ask Hyena."

Hyena landed with a thud on the sand next to the unconscious dragon, sharing his expression of both frustration and confusion. Was he mad?

"What kind of dragon is this?" Hyena asked, lifting the dragon's head and then glanced down her scales. "Does this look like a Talons of Power?"

"Um...yes?" Torrid answered with the least convincing voice ever.

The real question was: how was this dragon not in the Talons of Power? Her scales were all wrong. Her body proportions weren't correct. Amber couldn't tell if it was a rainwing or an icewing or the most discoloured skywing she'd ever seen. Her body weighed more than it looked and was much too cold.

"Totally! Look at her scales. She's looks so weird," Amber added.

"She doesn't look weird," Torrid conflicted.

"She does too!" She rebutted.

Torrid smacked the end of his tail against her leg and mouthed "does not" to her, probably not to arise Hyena's impatience.

Hyena exhaled sharply, glowering at her and Torrid. A rumble came from his teeth and he then shook his head, looking at the dead icewing, the horizon and then at his talons.

"Take this dragon back and wait for her to wake up. I'll figure out something, maybe she might be useful," he instructed to both of them. "I'll bury this icewing."

It took more than five hours for Amber and Torrid to drag the strange dragon's body to their makeshift prison hidden within the rock of a sandy Mesa. Halfway, Torrid flew there and back to retrieve some rope, which they tied around the dragon's shoulders and made it easier to move. Once they made it back they made a cup each of cactus juice and downed it, revitalising their energy as they trapped the dragon in the prison with chains.

Amber hoped it wasn't some weird skywing hybrid like Torrid was (not that she was saying he was weird) because she was sure any fire, even from a mudwing, would be enough to melt the chains. She hoped the dragon really was a rainwing and icewing hybrid like she thought. Though, admittingly, she wondered how on all of Pyrrhia two dragons from the opposite sides of the continent got together and how they could've made this strange-looking dragon.

But Amber was tired, too tired. Maybe it was waking up too early or dragging a massive weight for thirty sandstorms. Maybe it was Torrid complaining every step of the way. She didn't want to wait for the dragon to wake up - she was the one that knocked her out in the first place! She just wanted to lay down on camel pelts and sleep for three days.

Amber waited outside for Hyena, wondering how long he was going to be. Torrid watched the dragon in the cell and it wasn't long until he came scampering outside to call her, saying that the dragon moved.

Really? She almost grumbled but didn't say. Instead, she entered the shaded and cool rocky grotto with Torrid following, and then walked into a corridor next to the flimsy cell of iron bars and hardened clay walls. Her wing rattled a small metal hoop containing two keys from a hook on the wall. She contemplated moving it away to someplace secure but wasn't inherently bothered.

Amber walked through a rectangular doorway, opening the grated door. To the far wall, the dragon was chained but laid on the ground with the shackles around her wrists and one around her neck.

There was a clang behind her, followed by an "ow" from Torrid. He ran his talons back and forth over his wrinkled snout.

"Did you seriously just walk into the bars?" Amber asked him, wondering if there really was something wrong with his eyes.

"No!" He defended, then watched her expression. "Who stepped on your tail?"

Amber chose not to answer. She approached the sleeping dragon, leaning closely in case the dragon was faking but the dragon only twitched.

"Whoa. Whoa! Be careful! I think she's waking up," Torrid cautioned.

"Gee, I didn't notice," Amber replied, rolling her eyes.

The next thing Amber knew, the dragon's eyes flung open and blinked, and then the dragon's talons flew towards her only to be yanked away from the chains in a fit of red scales. The dragon breathed tiresomely, curling her talons around the chains that trapped her. Her scales turned green and then a darker green, making herself stand out amidst the clay room.

"My, she really looks weird, weirder than me, I mean," Torrid said. She guessed he said that to make Amber feel better.

Amber pried the dragon's name, her name being Mist and apparently, she was an icewing princess.. Hyena interrupted not long after Mist woke up. And for a moment, Amber did believe that Queen Blizzard wanted Mist imprisoned and that Hyena kept it to himself until then. That was, until Hyena gathered them outside the prison and told them his plan.

"This is perfect!" Hyena cried joyfully.

Torrid exchanged a confused look to Amber. She shrugged in response. "What's perfect? The amount of gold we now have? I mean we could totally hire-"

"I made that up," Hyena admitted quickly. "But now that we have the icewing princess and the only current heir to the icewing throne, we can-"

Amber interrupted, thinking of Hyena's plot. "Oooh! We can make her kill Queen Blizzard and then she'll have the throne and then...wait, what's going to happen after?"

"We're not doing that. Stop interrupting me. My plan is to blackmail Queen Blizzard. If she wants her precious princess back then she'll have to listen to our demands."

Torrid gave an uncertain nod. "OK. Blackmail...how are we going to do that and for what, exactly?"

"I'll...think of something or some way," Hyena answered. Amber was already doubtful. "As for what. We'll make Queen Blizzard get rid of the Talons of Power, finally. I don't care how long it takes, I want them gone, out of the desert or dead, I don't care."

"That's it?" Amber asked. "She's a princess! We can totally do more stuff! Demand more stuff! How about a palace of our own or-"

"NO!" Hyena growled. "I don't care about that. We shouldn't care about that. Something has to be done about the Talons of Power, anything, anyhow, I don't care. Now we have the power to do it and I'm not going to waste it on a palace. I'm going to use it to free the desert, maybe even the entire continent."

From that point on, Amber had to agree. The desert was her home, she was a sandwing after all. Hyena was right, what was she thinking? A palace? What was the point of a palace when some dragons (the Talons of Power) could destroy it? No, the safety of the desert was her first priority, just like she wanted it to be.

* * *

"He's just desperate," Amber finalised her explanation. "He's not a bad dragon, even if I - we disagree with him sometimes. I mean...he did care for us and for years too. He cared enough that he didn't want to see us die."

Gelid understood. She understood it all. She would've gone to Hyena's lengths if it meant getting rid of the Talons of Power. Mist felt the same way - she didn't admit it but she didn't have to. Her face and scales stayed the same through the entire story but her mouth stayed open, as if to argue a point but couldn't muster it. Queen Blizzard had an expression of understanding and sadness throughout, even coming closer to sit next to Gelid halfway through Amber's explanation.

Mist begun to speak a random jumble of words before stopping and considering what to say next.

But Gelid read her mind and wanted to ponder Hyena's true motivation. "So apart from having some common sense, why does he hate the Talons of Power so much? Because I'm suspecting there's something more than 'freeing the desert of danger' being an influence."

Amber's neck curled closer to the floor with her eyes drooping.

"Because they killed his family," Torrid answered, touching Amber's shoulder with a talon. "He accidentally told us when he was drunk on Sweet Scorpion Venom. He and his family were going to the rainforest through the animus tunnel when they were attacked by dragons in black cloaks. He said that they didn't quite kill him, they just left him there.

"Well this turned out to be a much sadder and truthful day for all, hmm?" Mist said, standing and then pacing. "I can't believe this," She muttered.

"What are you going to do next?" Queen Blizzard asked Mist. "There's still room in the ice kingdom for a princess and an ambassador and general." She offered.

Mist exhaled sharply. "I can't go back to the ice kingdom! Not like this, not after...everything. It's not right or honourable. I need to fess up, to all the queens, whatever punishment, I don't care anymore."

Gelid was surprised. She had no idea that Mist had honour or such bravery and respect for truth. Maybe Gelid was wrong to put Mist in her list of "bad and untrustworthy dragons". She considered saying something but didn't, remembering that Queen Blizzard was a queen for a reason and that her reasoning was superb beside Gelid's. She sat in silence.

"But-" Queen Blizzard stopped, her brows furling downwards in a sad expression.

"Not before I kill Hyena. I'm going to kill that little camel toad," Mist stated.

"Don't kill him, Mist!" Amber argued. She stood and flared her wings like a new sunrise. "I know sometimes he's unreasonable but he's still a caring dragon! He had his reasons!" Amber tried to look like bigger than she actually was, even as Mist walked and stared down at her.

"You're going to kill him? After all this?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"Yes, after everything," Mist replied. "He had me chained up for nearly four years. He was going to use me. _I apologise if I seem angry_ ," she said sarcastically, her serious face not changing. Amber didn't move, even as Mist tried to walk past her.

"Fine!" Mist said. "I won't kill him but I will rip his tail off when I get the chance." Amber breathed with relief. "Torrid, go check on Hyena. You're the fastest flyer here," she ordered him.

Torrid turned around and walked out. The sound of flapping wings disappeared into the dark night.

Gelid wondered if the panic in Vine Square had receded. Maybe all the smoke was clear. And now that Mist admitted to staging the entire attack, Gelid didn't have to worry about new dragons coming out of nowhere to attack Queen Blizzard. But Gelid never left her guard down, not with Mist here, not when the princess attacked her queen.

Gelid sat in silence for a long while. She observed Mist and Amber, how they spoke and how they interacted. She figured Mist had a sense of care for Amber and Torrid for some reason. For a moment Gelid thought that Amber and Mist were in a relationship but Amber never spoke any differently and neither of the dragons touched each other. So that theory was thrown out.

A dark shape loomed outside the entrance that Torrid left open. Their neck looked off into the distance and then inside the safe room. Gelid noticed the purple and orange scales as Queen Firefly walked in and stared at the unconscious icewings.

"What happened -" Queen Firefly begun but abruptly stopped when her gaze met Mist. "Mist? Is that - you're alive!" She dashed to Mist and they tipped their snouts together.

"Firefly," Mist smiled, accepting the warm greeting.

 _They were friends?_ Gelid guessed. _I can see that. They have...similarities._ She noted, noting both their heritages.

"I thought you were dead!" Queen Firefly said, stepping back and assessing Mist. "All these years - I knew you weren't! I just knew it!" Their tails twirled.

Mist looked down, as if she wanted fly out of this situation.

"But what are you doing here? Appearing in the rainforest of all places?" Queen Firefly asked.

"I'm sorry," Mist said in genuine tone. "All this - the attack, the explosions." she waved her talons in a circle. "It was all me."

"And me!" Amber said, quickly not liking all the attention. "But mostly her."

"I didn't mean to ruin your celebrations," Mist said to Queen Firefly. "I mean...I did but not like that."

Queen Firefly opened her mouth to speak but became paralysed and she shook her head. She sighed. "I'm just glad you're alive," she said in a quieter tone. She tipped her snout under Mist's one final time before asking. "Where have you been all this time?"

Mist sighed and explained everything. She explained the night her father died, finding his body and then waking up in a prison with strange dragons around her. She explained Hyena's plan and then how she escaped with the help of her copper bracelets that were animus enchanted.

The enchantment on the bracelets made them able to be worn by any dragon, no matter the tribe or age. They also allowed the wearer to "move objects without touching them" but Mist described it as difficult. That explained how Queen Blizzard was floating earlier.

"Enchanted?" Queen Firefly asked. "By who?"

"I have no idea. My father gave them to me the night he died and I never figured out how they worked until a while ago," Mist responded, looking uncomfortably at her talons.

"Do you think that maybe...maybe your father enchanted them?"

"Impossible," Queen Blizzard said. "We haven't had an icewing animus in centuries."

 _And she would be an animus too._

Queen Firefly nodded and stepped back, as if she just remembered something important. "Oh! I managed to find all the queens and dragons. That's why I'm here. I came to tell all of you. There's a clearing not far from here that I put them in to wait until Queen Blizzard arrived.

" _Ooooo_ can I come too?" Amber asked. "I want to see all the queens!"

Queen Firefly shared a look of confusion. "Um, sure."

Amber howled with excitement.

"Are all of them safe?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"Of course. Some dragons sustained some burns..." She glanced at Mist. "And a few injuries and some smoke inhalation but every dragon's alive. I have Swan and Diamondclaws overlooking their care."

Gelid almost forgot about Swan. She blamed Swan for all this even though Pale contested that it wasn't him. And Pale was right. She'd apologise to him later. Moon's vision did happen. The white dragon was Queen Blizzard and the red dragon was Mist. It happened. A nightwing vision happened in front of my eyes. That's one thing I thought I'd never see.

"Arrrghh," groaned Pale. Gelid amusingly thought he heard her thoughts and woke up to tell her "I told you so" but instead, he simply sat himself up, nudged the dragon next to him and then stared at Gelid and then at Mist.

"Mist? I must _still_ be dreaming." Pale said, rubbing his eyes.

"You're not dreaming," Mist said.

"Perhaps we should wait for my icewings to wake up first," Queen Blizzard suggested. Queen Firefly nodded, resuming to speak with Mist. She nudged Gelid gently. "You're being uncharacteristically silent."

Gelid shrugged. "There's nothing to say," It wasn't that she couldn't say anything but thought it was best that she didn't. She didn't how to properly respond to certain situations, which was why she mostly stayed out of them. It wasn't her job anyway.

It took a few minutes for the icewings to wake up and stretch out their legs and wings. Gelid tried to stretch her wings but an unpleasant surge of pain travelled down her wing and shoulders. Something wasn't right and she promised herself that she'd see a doctor as soon as possible.

Queen Firefly directed them into the dark pillars of the trees. Every few moments she would sprout a plume of fire to make sure the icewings knew where she was. Gelid flew between Mist and Queen Blizzard just to be cautious. Amber flew next to Mist, expressing her delight of seeing all the queens relentlessly.

They flew silently for a long time until Gelid heard the smashing of branches and the furious flapping of wings. She looked around quickly, hoping that the other dragons had heard that too. But they hadn't or atleast they didn't seem concerned.

"Did you hear that?" She asked Queen Blizzard.

Queen Blizzard's ears pointed up and down as she turned her gaze. "Hear what?" And before Gelid could respond a voice boomed across the rainforest.

"Mist, look out!" It was Torrid's voice.

Before Gelid could catch Mist's expression, a dark sandwing with brown-golden scales dove in a flash with a wing-whirling blast of air. The sandwing smashed into Mist and they both fell out of the air. Amber twisted and dove after them. Gelid followed.

Mist recovered before she could've hit the ground but then the sandwing landed on top of her wings, pushing her to the ground near the base of a giant tree.

"Wait! Don't kill her!" Amber shouted, landing by Mist's writhing body under the sandwing's talons.

"What do you mean 'Don't kill her'!" Protested the sandwing, pressing Mist's snout to the ground. "Did she hit you on the head? Did you forget who I am? Did you forget what you've always wanted?"

Torrid landed beside Amber. "No, she didn't hit us on the head," he said. "We still want the desert to be safe but-"

"This was not the way to do it!" Amber said.

Gelid landed a distance away from Torrid and assessed the options of possibly saving Mist. Queen Blizzard landed behind her, Pale and the other icewings landed one after the other in a semi-circle around Mist and the sandwing.

Queen Firefly squeezed past Gelid. "You don't need to kill her," she said. "We know your story. We know what happened to your family."

The sandwing glared at Torrid and Amber.

"The Talons of Power took them away from you," Queen Blizzard added. Gelid stepped aside so that both the queens could speak. "And you did what you had to to keep them away from the desert. Queen Firefly and I-"she shot a glance at Queen Firefly"-have agreed to deal with this problem now. We even might be able to convince the other queens to help before this problem expands to the rest of the continent."

Queen Firefly stepped forward. "But if you kill that dragon, you will not be leaving this forest and you cannot help us."

The sandwing seemed almost convinced, grumbling and shaking his head. He looked at Amber.

"Please, Hyena," Amber pleaded.

"Yeah," Torrid said synonymously.

If Hyena wasn't going to be convinced then Gelid had a clear shot of his wings, as long as he didn't swerve his tail at her. She hadn't managed to figure out a strategy against sandwings quite yet.

"Fine but I want all the Talons of Power dead. Every single scale, I don't care how small," he demanded. The moment he lifted his talon from Mist's snout, Mist stood up in a rush, almost making Hyena stumble and fall. Her wings intentionally smacked Hyena's head and he hissed back, curling his barbed tail. Those dragons did not like each other at all.

Mist retreated to Queen Firefly, sharing her thanks.

"Even I think there's been enough drama for the day and I've missed most of it," Pale commented.

Gelid laughed. "You have no idea," There was more excitement and action today than there's ever been in her entire life. A part of her liked it but the other part thought it was the worst feeling ever and that she wanted to stay in the ice kingdom forever.

"I have to agree," Queen Blizzard agreed, sighing. "Today has been a day indeed."

"I think it's time we converse with the other queens and see to that all of you are checked by doctors," Queen Firefly said. "I understand if you don't want to attend," she said to Mist.

"Not a chance. I need to admit that I was the one that did this, not the Talons of Power, even if they were responsible for murdering my father but...it's been too long now," Mist said.

They all travelled as a large group to a glade surrounded by golden-bark trees. There were no vines, which Gelid was grateful for. She flew into more vines in that day than the number of all of the days she had lived.

Rainwings were hanging lightbulb vines around and across the trees. A few nightwings with spears trudged around all the dragons, creating a makeshift border to patrol.

Each of the dragon tribes huddled around their respective queens, except for the rainwings which were scattered throughout. Gelid spotted a small area where injured dragons were crowded with rainwings and nightwings tending to their wounds. One seawing had little cactus seeds all over his snout and a skywing had an entirely black tail. Glory was speaking to Swan and Diamondclaws. Swan was the first to as knowledge their arrival and watched as they descended.

"They're here," Swan said. Glory smiled, probably happy that her daughter was safe. Queen Firefly dashed towards her and happily exchanged hugs.

"Oh thank the mountains," Queen Ibis said. "I thought we were going to be here for the entire night."

"I knew I shouldn't have been worrying," Swan smiled. Though, he was staring at Gelid for a long while.

"What happened to you dragons? And who's that?" Princess Willow asked, pointing to Mist.

Mist cleared her throat and stepped past Gelid and stopped so that all the dragons could see her, gathering the attention of all the dragons. Queen Blizzard followed behind her.

 _This is it. Whatever happens next will be permanent to her. She's going to face very heavy punishments. Especially from Queen Auklet, she doesn't appear to be very happy._

"My name is princess Mist of the icewings," Mist exhaled deeply, finding her next words to say. "And I am responsible for-"

"Saving my life!" Queen Blizzard butted in, standing beside Mist. _What?_ They exchanged glances, including Mist's confused expression with her mouth open. "The attack tonight was caused by the Talons of Power and for some unknown reason they were targeting me. I apologise to all of you that this danger persisted to this day that was meant for peaceful celebrations. We were attacked by many unknown assailants which my bodyguard-"she pointed a talon at Gelid-"fought back heroically, however was not able to completely hold back.

"But my niece and current heir to the throne-"she gestured to Mist"-saved my life and I would not be standing here if it wasn't for her, which is why I commend her heavily for the throne she so deserves.

"This is also a reminder that the Talons of Power are a grave threat. The biggest threat to our continent and to our tribes. This is a reminder that they can strike at any time anywhere, regardless of who you are. This is why we need to work together to stop them before a bigger incident occurs, before dragons are lost to an invisible war. I, for one, refuse to stand by for longer while this threat stands and flies."

Queen Blizzard breathed deeply. Silence fluttered over the rainforest with staring dragons and even quieter faces. Gelid herself wasn't sure of what to say or do next.

Dragons began to murmur and Queen Blizzard started walking back and Mist followed slowly, shaking her head and speaking in a whisper.

"Why did you do that?" Mist asked, astonished.

"I wasn't going to lose you again," Queen Blizzard said simply. "You're my only heir and the ice kingdom needs you. I need you."

 _This is it. The Talons of Power will know that this entire attack wasn't them and either they'll express that or make it worse. The world just changed overnight by the one dragon that I will never trust. And she's coming back to the ice kingdom._

 _What will I do to keep my queen safe? What can I do?_


	6. Chapter 5

Her head veered out the window of the tallest tower in the biggest palace. The sky and the land were the same colour and the ice as bright as the sun watching over them. It wasn't windy and it wasn't cloudy. It was perfect. Below, there was a group of icewings in the courtyard far away from the Tree of Light and a lonesome one walking away from the palace with an empty basket in his snout.

A sheet of snow was layered on the windowsill and she brushed it away, revealing the smooth ice below. She looked up.

Above was a squadron of icewing dragonets flying and practicing their triangle formation with one set of little gleaming scales lingering just a wing-length below them.

She just wanted to lift her wings and join them in the big sky. And possibly tell them to curl their wings down a little so they didn't have to flap so often. And their swishing tails - don't get her started about that!

She shifted her wings, resisting the urge to do just that.

But she couldn't. She was under a strict prohibition. A rainwing doctor examined her wings and told her that the sharp seeds of the dragonsmoke cactus had ripped holes through her wing membrane, and some even dug into her flesh and hit her bones, which explained why flying was so painful. The doctor informed her that it'd take at least a whole month until her wings were better and possibly even three months for it to heal fully.

Queen Blizzard insisted heavily that she stayed within the ice kingdom, even as she was leaving to Queen Thorn's Stronghold the day after the order was issued.

 _"I'm your bodyguard! I'm supposed to be with you at all times! That's the point!" Gelid argued, knowing well that her queen could easily tell her to shove a snowball up her snout. "How can I protect you if I'm not there?"_

 _"Not in the condition that your wings are in," Queen Blizzard said calmly._

 _"My wings are fine! I can still fly," Gelid insisted._

 _"Enough. I am your queen and for your safety I order you to limit flying and stay in the ice kingdom, preferably in the palace. Three moons, stop being so stubborn," Queen Blizzard added. "I won't be gone long."_

So Gelid couldn't be happy for very long but at least Pale was there to protect her.

It has been almost three weeks since visiting the rainforest. They spent a few days traveling, three days in Queen Thorn's stronghold and the rest traveling back to the ice kingdom, which didn't help her wings at all - flying across the continent. She was glad to be home but it didn't take long for all the news to surge through the entire kingdom.

News that Princess Mist had returned and that the Talons of Power attacked their beloved queen, rallying all the warriors. A dozen icewings have already stepped forward to volunteer finding the Talons of Power and their leader. Gelid liked the idea but Queen Blizzard was hesitant and ultimately told them that she's planning a hunting group just for that, probably to make them stop bothering her.

There's even been a few rumours about Mist's return. Many believe she revealed herself so she could challenge for the throne. Some suspect that it's actually just a rainwing that has disguised as her to infiltrate the ice kingdom. But those dragons were wrong as far as Gelid was concerned. Mist was as grumpy, easily irritable, smart and strong as Pale described her as.

At least staying in the ice kingdom meant that she could keep an eye on Mist. Queen Blizzard might've pardoned Mist but Gelid didn't trust her. There was something Mist was hiding under her scales and Gelid was going to find out in one way or another. She didn't trust that princess.

She sighed. Along with watching Mist, she also had some chores to do (which was meant for dragonets, not her). She did guess that Queen Blizzard wanted her to do some specific things because she trusted Gelid; because she was one of her most trusted dragons, which was true. Queen Blizzard trusted Gelid to be in her private chamber.

Especially for the chance to.. _.tend to plants_. She sighed again. Now that the windowsill was clear, she grabbed a small box on the floor beside the window made of clear ice filled with small, river pebbles. Thin green roots grew through the maze from a small orchid sprouting from the top of the pebbles. A silver orchid, with two cloudy flower buds not yet open. One of very few plants, if any, to survive in the extreme temperatures of the ice kingdom.

It was a gift from Mist but Gelid believed that Queen Firefly gave it to Mist to offer to Queen Blizzard as a gift of reconciliation. Not that Mist admitted to it. She mostly suspected after reading a note of instructions of how to _care_ for the plant and help it survive, which was ridiculous. Why should a plant have such specific needs? They're only there to look pretty, especially ones with flowers.

She read the instructions. _Make sure the silver orchid is in direct sunlight. This is imperative when the orchid is flowering or is beginning to flower. This rule is excepted during Summer._

Gelid stuck her neck out the window, trying her best to balance while holding unto the note with one talon. And then she directly looked up. She deduced that there was enough sun and that the plant should be just fine. She'd just have to remind Queen Blizzard to move the plant from the window when a snowstorm floated above the kingdom as there was a comment on the bottom of the note:

 _Do not, repeat, do not let the silver orchid submerge in snow, ice or water as these temperatures would quickly denature or kill the plant._

At least it sounded simple but the next stanza underneath was so badly written that Gelid stood there trying to read, only to be distracted a loud clutter of noise like ice shards breaking outside, followed by a cheerful string of curses.

She flattened the instructions on a slate of ice surrounded by small icy figurines, opened the door and cautiously twisted her head around. To her immediate right was a short hallway with a single, opened doorway to her room. And to the left was a longer hallway that opened wider, forming one end of a "T" shape.

Mist was barely out of her own room (which was unfortunately right next to Gelid's room) and stared at a random mess of metal tools and objects scattered along the floor. Around her front legs were thin belts above the copper bracelets with smaller variants of those tools hung in pockets, similar to the one that she saw Forgelight with. There were tools like a hammer and a chisel, for instance.

There was a larger pocket with a rolled-up scroll pushed into it.

"Gah! Worm spit!" Mist said loudly with a fury of red scales reflecting into the ice. She hadn't noticed Gelid yet. "Stupid rainwing claws. Stupid rainwing scales. Stupid - UGH!" She snapped with anger. "STUPID EVERYTHING!"

"What is going on? What have you done?" Gelid questioned.

Mist's scales rapidly turned lavender with small bursts of orange and green over her wing and down her tail. "Look," she said to Gelid. "Icewing claws." She lifted her thick leg covered in white and sharp scales and then pressed it back down into the ice. "Rainwing claws." She repeated with her leg of smooth scales but when she put it down to floor again, it quickly slid a short distance forwards in a high-pitch squeak and Mist almost fell forward.

Now Gelid understood the frustration. Rainwing claws didn't look long enough or sharp enough to able to hook into the ice properly. She wondered how many times Mist had violently tumbled or fell over.

"Useless!" Mist said, standing up again and she stared at the scattered metal objects. "Stupid rainwing-"she cut herself off. "Gah! A rainwing mother of all dragons!"

"What are you talking about? Rainwings are exceptional," Gelid commented.

Mist looked at her questioningly, unsure if she wanted to take it as a compliment or another side of an argument. She didn't say anything, instead, she starting to walk carefully and started picking up the scattered objects and put it into a larger bag that she dragged across the floor that gathered small stray snowflakes into small piles.

"What are you doing?" Gelid asked.

"I'm going to carve a dragon," Mist said a slightly calmer tone, gathering the last few things off the floor.

"Uh, carve...a dragon? As in..." Did Mist mean to go attack a dragon because of her bad mood? Was that something Mist did often that no dragon stopped her? Did she really get that angry that often? Being a princess did mean she was entitled to a few out-of-the-norm traditions but surely Mist had some dragon decency to not go clawing an innocent dragon.

"Yes, carve a dragon, as in 'I'm going to carve a dragon from a block of ice'," Mist said, now checking all of her belts, making sure each pocket had the correct tool. "I've been waiting days for this delivery. I'm not wasting any time."

"Oh," Gelid begun to question her whole outlook on Mist. "You're a sculptor?"

"Oh I'm sorry, is there another sculptor in the entire kingdom that I haven't met yet? I wasn't aware that such artistic ability existed so commonly," Mist said in a straight face. Gelid knew she was being sarcastic. Boy, she felt dumb.

"I wasn't aware there was a sculptor in the kingdom in the ten years I've been alive!" Gelid said. Mist rolled her eyes. "So...those little statues in Queen Blizzard's chamber...you made them?"

"Like my father always said: 'you have a gift, Mist! Your ability to sculpt came from my mother's grandfather - or my father's great great great grand-aunt-relative-dragon'," Mist said in a deeper, mocking voice. "Something like that." She shook her head. "I started making them when I was younger. Who knew intrinsically carving little things could take away my anger."

"That's...good."

"It didn't. It just made me too occupied to care," Mist added woefully. "Blizzard wanted the little things I made. Guess it made me _kind-of_ like her."

Gelid had to fight the instinct to say "that's Queen Blizzard, to you." But she was a teeny-bit afraid of Mist picking her up and throwing her out the window, especially out of the highest tower in the palace. Ice was not a comfortable surface to land on when one fell.

"Now do you have any other questions or are you going to delay my work any longer?" Mist asked Gelid with an almost glare-y look.

Gelid shook her head and Mist trudged down the main hallway, hearing two more squeaks and groans until there was the beating of wings into the air.

 _A warrior, a princess and a sculptor. Is there anything she can't do?_ Gelid considered. _Taking anger management classes, I suppose. Do icewings have anger management classes? I know the sandwings and skywings do. Maybe I should hint to Queen Blizzard about sending a certain dragon there._

Gelid returned to Queen Blizzard's chambers and gazed at the tiny sculptures forming a semi-circle on the slab of ice that functioned as a desk. She didn't pay much attention to them before but now they seemed a lot more interesting. One was an icewing but had unusually large wings and a long tail with tail bands. Was that Prince North? Another sculpture was an almost perfect replica of the Tree of Light except one side had a bunch of broken branches that looked as if it was accidentally knocked off the desk. One was a penguin. A crown the size of a ring. A walrus, and one that looked like either a dolphin or a beluga.

Gelid definitely had no idea that Mist had such talent. She knew that she could never sit for hours carving such a small object with either her claws or metal tools.

And right now she was tending to a plant. A plant that shouldn't need tending at all unless it was to trim a branch or two.

As she was reading the instructions on the desk and helplessly gazing at the small figurines, a soft chime echoed through the time.

It was the chime of the conveyance mirror.

The conveyance mirror was a special, animus enchanted mirror that allowed communication between dragons from anywhere, as long as the location also had a conveyance mirror to connect to. All the queens and important dragons like the teachers of Jade Mountain Academy had a mirror. Occasionally Gelid answered them when Queen Blizzard wasn't around.

She stepped aside the bench and sat perfectly in front of the mirror, seeing herself with mildly polished scales.

The chime continued until Gelid spoke the trigger word to answer. "Speak."

Instantly, a dragon with soft sandy and dusty colours appeared with a menacing stare against a cool-grey backdrop. It was Queen Thorn.

"Queen Thorn?" Gelid said. "Is something the matter? Is Queen Blizzard-"

Queen Thorn quickly started speaking in a bold tone. "I have suspected that the attack in the rainforest that wasn't the Talons of Power. A covert attack of that scale could not possibly be enacted by such as small organisation. I've taken much time to consider who is really behind it."

How did she know? Or how did she figure it out?

 _No. Surely not...Queen Blizzard is at her stronghold right now, isn't she? Maybe Queen Blizzard told her what really happened...but why would she be contacting the ice kingdom? There's something going on here._

"It was the nightwings or the skywings," Queen Thorn proposed with unblinking black eyes. There was something eerie about Queen Thorn's lack of movement or unchanging of tone that made Gelid think that this was a dragon that looked like Queen Thorn. "The nightwings have always wanted their independence from the rainwings and they have the cover of night to coordinate their schemes."

"No, your majesty, I think you should know that-" Gelid was interrupted again.

"Or the skywings. Their dangerous dragonflame cacti were found all over the rainforest instead of their own mountains. How else can dragons get a hold of so much of the cacti?" Queen Thorn asked rhetorically. "Take my words into careful consideration. Either the nightwings or the skywings are up to something and we all need to be cautious of who to trust."

And Queen Thorn disappeared instantly after speaking. Gelid stared at herself in the reflection, only realising it after a quick contemplation. What was Queen Thorn talking about? Maybe Queen Blizzard was on her back from the Stronghold and Queen Thorn thought that she'd be back in the ice kingdom.

Maybe Gelid could contact Queen Thorn just to subtly interrogate her.

Gelid cleared her throat. "Mirror, I wish to communicate with the kingdom of the desert." Those were the words used. She heard Queen Blizzard speak those words often enough that Gelid knew them off by heart. The soft chimes requesting an audience echoed from the other side of the mirror's connection.

She waited, wondering if Queen Thorn was in a rush to send the message that she already left her room after using the mirror. Was there no one else that could answer for her?

Suddenly, a dragon with golden scales and green eyes appeared in the mirror in a sandstone and dimly lit room. It was Sunny.

"Hi, Sunny," Gelid said politely, feeling warm at the sight of the kind dragon.

"Oh hi hi," Sunny smiled cheerfully. "It's you, Gelid. You've grown so much bigger, wow! I love seeing one of my students after all these years. You've grown so much! Oh!" She looked over to a part of the room that Gelid couldn't see.

"Beetle, Beetle! Come see - come over here - come see one of my former students," Sunny called out, then looking at Gelid with a bright smile.

A smaller sandwing sat to an open spot next to Sunny. She had light sandy scales similar to Queen Thorn but with one line of black-edged scales down her neck starting from her ear. A gold chain necklace hung from her shoulders with a ruby gem hanging from the centre. A red-ochre tattoo of the Eye of Onyx was plastered midway down her neck. Her black tongue flickered out and back into her snout, and she stared at Gelid with dark-grey eyes.

"Hello," Greeted the sandwing. Princess Beetle. Gelid didn't see her very often.

"This is Gelid. She used to go to Jade Mountain Academy and now she lives in the ice palace! Isn't that amazing!" Sunny said to Beetle. "She's Queen Blizzard's bodyguard!"

"Bodyguard," Beetle echoed. "I can respect that. But shouldn't you be here, beside Queen Blizzard? Or did you wake up late?"

"I'm currently under...uh, doing something important in the ice kingdom. Queen Blizzard tasked me with it," Gelid answered. Beetle seemed satisfied with the answer. "Speaking of, I need to speak to Queen Thorn right now."

"Thorn, Thorn," Sunny contemplated. "Where would Mother be right now?" She asked Beetle.

Beetle shrugged. "In the courtyard, in her tent, in the barracks, taking a dip in the oasis, how should I know where she is?"

"Hold on, I'll go find her," Sunny said with a smile to Gelid and then stood and walked off.

Beetle stared into the mirror for a short moment before walking and disappearing to another part of the room. Gelid felt awkward sitting and staring into the mirror. She waited for a winter until she heard a cluster of voices coming from a corridor and then a barrage of sandy, brown and white scales came into view.

Queen Blizzard and Queen Thorn stood next to each other with another sandwing standing behind them. It was Hyena. Gelid was surprised that he was allowed to be in the Stronghold. She heard that Queen Thorn was going to speak and work with Hyena but she didn't figure that meant Hyena would be in the same vicinity. Where was Amber and Torrid? Surely they wouldn't be too far away.

"Gelid, what's going on?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"I just received a message, from you," Gelid said to Queen Thorn.

"From me?" Queen Thorn asked. "I haven't sent a message lately, unless I've recently developed a starfish brain. Are you confident?"

Gelid nodded. She explained to them what happened. Queen Thorn chimed through the mirror and accused the nightwings or the skywings of the attack in the rainforest, defending the Talons of Power.

Both of the queens shared confusion.

"I hadn't accused any dragon of anything." Queen Thorn said. "In fact, I'm working with Hyena right now about tracking and finding the Talons of Power. They hadn't left my side all morning."

"It's a ploy," Hyena said. "The Talons of Power are smart. I bet they did this. An easy way to divide the tribes for an eventual tactical attack."

Queen Blizzard regarded Hyena. "But if they sent a message to the ice kingdom, then-"

"They have a mirror too," Queen Thorn finished the sentence. "I'll have to contact Queen Auklet to check on the remaining pieces of the mirror but it might take days for her to and I to have a face-to-face. Moonlickers, I can't believe this is happening," She added.

"Perhaps we should send a message to the other queens and ask them if they've experienced messages of the sort, to stop this before it gets out of hand," Queen Blizzard suggested.

"We should find the Talons of Power as soon as possible," Hyena offered. "End this at the source and bite their little eel heads off."

"Stop being such a sun-bug," Queen Thorn said. "You're right, but we need to make sure the other tribes don't fall into distrust."

Hyena grunted.

Suddenly the mirror turned grey. Gelid couldn't see anything through the mirror or herself in reflection.

"Hold on - we're getting - getting another message," Said a distorted voice. Gelid wasn't sure whose voice that was but something wasn't right.

One thing was for certain: Gelid wasn't going to witness this alone. This was much too creepy, much too unusual for Gelid. She needed someone else with her. Some other dragon that could justify that Gelid wasn't going crazy and some dragon that might have some good ideas.

Gelid hurried to the window and gazed over the edge, scanning for a certain set of scales. There! A silhouette of lavender scales was salient in the courtyard. Gelid rushed out the room, fighting the urge to take into the air out a window, instead bolting down a set of stairs and then gliding carefully off the deck. She circled above the courtyard and then landed in a puff of glassy snow.

Mist was cutting thin lines into the surface of a large ice cube about twice as big as herself. Two icewings stared at Mist's prudent actions, murmuring quietly between themselves.

"Mist!" Gelid called out, scurrying towards her and the giant block of ice. She stopped herself in front of an open scroll on top of the snow, seeing a diagram of an icewing drawn in charcoal.

"What do you want?" Mist asked without looking away from the ice, annoyed, and carving intricate lines.

"I need you to come with me," Gelid said to her. She wondered what rank Mist was and whether it was acceptable to be ordering a princess around.

"I'm busy," Mist vexed. "Go bother some other dragon." The two icewings scampered away, finding the scene uncomfortable.

"No, you don't understand, I need you to come with me right now. Pyrrhia is in danger."

Mist exhaled sharply. "When is it not?"

"Mist-"

"FINE!" Mist snapped, flattening her talons to the snow. She unlatched the tool belts from her legs and softly placed them on the ground. "What is your annoying problem that cannot be solved by yourself?"

Gelid beckoned her to follow, returning to Queen Blizzard's chamber and settled herself in front of the mirror.

The mirror was still grey and unresponsive but Gelid could hear a voice talking faintly but Mist's footsteps were too loud to able to hear the voice.

"Shh," Gelid hushed, receiving a scowl from Mist.

It was a mudwing's deep voice. A familiar mudwing. Queen Ibis's voice.

"...I've taken much time to consider who is really behind it..." Said Queen Ibis. Gelid realised the similarity of speech between Queen Ibis and the fake Queen Thorn from earlier

"It was the rainwings and the icewings. And they want to take over Pyrrhia. They have been actively working together, I suspect. Their relationship is close, too close and it's only a matter of time until the rest of us pay the price."

Gelid met Mist's shocked face. _I know, I told you Pyrrhia is in danger and now you're listening. Queen Ibis just tried to blame us for the attack. Queen Thorn tried to blame the nightwings and skywings._

 _The Talons of Power are causing mayhem simply with a mirror. What else are they capable of?_

* * *

It was a matter of emergency. Queen Blizzard had called only her most trusted dragons - it wasn't a political topic so a council meeting wasn't required. They gathered in an empty room on the second highest floor of the palace. Guards were cleared except for a pair at the end of corridor to order any wandering icewings away.

"Did you call Mist?" Queen Blizzard asked beside Gelid.

"I wasn't aware she was going to be a part of this," Gelid admitted, gazing at the six icewings in the room with them, Puffin and Pale among them. Was that not enough?

"Retrieve her. I want her input in this," Her tail flicked to the closed doorway furthest to Gelid's side.

Gelid bounded up and made her way to the window in the corridor. She stared out against the blue night, wondering if Mist was down in the courtyard sculpting. There was the block of ice with some edges cut off and fragments being swept by a small icewing but Mist wasn't there nor her tools.

Gelid made her way to the top floor and knocked on the Mist's door.

There was a low grumble and then Mist spoke. "What is it?"

"The queen is requesting your presence," Gelid replied.

Mist groaned. The sound of clasping claws on ice went through the door and it opened. Mist looked down at Gelid as if she was about to breathe fire.

"Let me guess: it's a meeting about what happened two days ago?" Mist asked.

"You're absolutely right," Some part of Gelid found this amusing - amused that Mist was bothered and annoyed so easily. She tried not to smile. She turned away and started walking away with Mist following slowly.

Mist exasperated in tiredness and frustration. "Why does she even want to hear what I have to say? I'm just the weird princess that yells at everyone and slips on the ice in the kingdom I don't want to be in," She whined loudly.

"If you want to leave then I don't see why not," Gelid attempted to persuade. "I'm sure the rainforest would welcome you with open wings."

"Hah! Now that would be a nice thought. Firefly and I are friends. I'm sure she'd love me in the rainforest. I'm more rainwing than icewing after all."

"But I doubt Queen Blizzard would let you. She's still the queen, your queen." _Are you trying to make her stay? If she's gone then there's one less dragon to worry about._ Gelid had to try to act reasonable.

"She may be queen but she's not the queen of me. I can do whatever I want," Mist said justifiably. "But..." She sighed.

 _But you owe her. You feel bad about attacking her so you're trying to make up for it. You act like you don't need her but you couldn't see your life without her._ Gelid thought. _I think I have you figured out._

 _Or you're thinking of a discreet way to kill her and have her throne as soon as you gain the trust of the icewings again. Well, you'll never have mine._

Mist stayed quiet as they entered the room of important icewings. Gelid stopped by Queen Blizzard so that she was between her and the door. Mist found a spot on the other side of Queen Blizzard and sat silently.

Perhaps it was Gelid's imagination that Puffin moved to the exact opposite side of where Mist sat. She figured that Puffin was being vigilant, in case Mist would attack a dragon and she could easily interfere. Gelid was glad that there was another dragon as cautious as she was.

Gelid assessed all the icewing talons as her eyes flickered over them until she got to Mist's. There was something off about hers and it wasn't just the odd pairing of rainwing and icewing claws. There was something under her rainwing talon, like a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Gelid asked, standing and pointing at Mist's talon.

Mist looked down and lifted her white talon, under between her claws, finding nothing and then lifting her lavender talon. Gelid was right. There was a strip of white paper under her palm. Gelid took it and read it:

 _"I'm an animus and I'm alive. Meet me at Rain's Merriment."_

 _Who's an animus? Mist?_ She could test that. "Are you sending a secret message to someone? Hmm?" Gelid asked.

"What?" Mist snatched the paper from Gelid and read it quickly. "I'm not an animus! I've never seen that message in my entire life! That's not even my talon-writing!" She defended hastily. "Seriously, if I wanted to send a message to someone why would I write a message? I could just talk to them because you iceberg heads don't care about me."

"Watch your tongue, Mist," Queen Blizzard said calmly but intensely. She gestured for Gelid to move and she followed obediently.

"I don't need to watch what I say. I can do whatever I want, even claw that frozen-penguin head over there," Mist glared at Gelid.

"I want to see you try," Gelid rebutted. "You might be a princess but I'm not afraid of you," Even though she was afraid but just a tiny bit. "Egg-head."

Mist stood and flared her wings, hitting the icewing next to her and he scrambled out of the way. "What did you just say?" She hissed.

Gelid stood her ground. She saw the other icewings moved away in the corner of her eye.

"I said you're a black-eyed egg-head who only cares about herself. You don't care what happens to other dragons because you're a frigid walrus tusk. You don't even care about your own tribe or the only dragon who really cares about you." She jerked her head at Queen Blizzard.

Mist growled, taking a step towards Gelid.

"Now, I think we should all take a deep breath and concentrate on-" Pale was interrupted.

"Keep your snout to yourself!" Mist roared at Pale. "This is half your fault!"

"Keep your aggression towards me and keep him out of this or do you care so little that you'd pull unrelated icewings into this just to try to act scary?" She reasoned.

Mist didn't answer but her face became the embodiment of anger. Her scales were lava red with small black spots that looked as if her scales couldn't envision what Mist was feeling.

"SETTLE!" Queen Blizzard roared, sending a rumble through the ice palace. She raised her wings between them. "I thought I was assembling my most respected and trustworthy dragons, not a bunch of bickering dragonets with a grudge match. Freeze your anger or let the ocean freeze it for you."

Gelid considered dipping into the ocean for a moment. Least the ocean would be louder than Mist's ego. "Fine," She replied as calm as she could muster.

"Whatever," Mist's scales turned orange.

The icewings gathered once more and formed a circle as if the dispute between Mist and Gelid never happened. Queen Blizzard started the discussion, starting with the "Mirror Incident" as she truthfully named it.

Gelid couldn't concentrate. Her entire mind blazed with clever little remarks she'd make against Mist and how the fight would look if they really went to fight this argument out. Her mind echoed with that message. _"Meet me at Rain's Merriment."_

Rain's Merriment was a tree in the middle of the taiga forest, seen shortly after crossing the Great Ice Cliff from the ice kingdom. This meant that any dragon from any tribe could visit it, if they felt compelled to travel to the coldest part of the continent just for that. It was a type of jungle tree that was selectively bred to fit in with the taiga trees, survive the cold, and look mysterious. The rainwing's gift to the icewings at the second Winter-Spring celebration.

Gelid had seen it a few times. It was mostly a large, very tall tree with vibrant green leaves that stuck out like a broken wing in the snow forest. Its wood was stripy white, grey and golden-brown, with hints of both the kingdoms growing. It was supposedly the exchange for the cutting of the moon-globe tree.

The discussion was still going after an hour. Gelid spoke as little as she could, too distracted by the message. Mist didn't speak at all.

An icewing with a quieter voice was speaking and that was when Gelid heard something outside. It sounded like scraping, like a seal trying too hard not to make noise while with wiggled its way from the shore. It was suspicious enough that Gelid started thinking about that instead.

"Please excuse me, your majesty," Gelid whispered as softly as she could to Queen Blizzard.

Queen Blizzard nodded at her and then resumed her attention to the speaking icewing. Gelid quietly tapped her talons to the door and opened it, meeting light-blue scales and a glint of metal.

"Nimbus!" Gelid realised with a sharp tone of her voice.

Nimbus flinched and ducked his head down, backing away from the door. For a dragon bigger than Gelid, he definitely got scared more often.

"What are you doing here? This is a private discussion." Gelid waved her talon at Queen Blizzard and the voices stopped.

"I was just - um. Just passing by," Nimbus said in cowardly voice. "I wasn't doing anything - just walking by - yes, that's all. Don't mind me." He started walking away.

"Stay right there," Gelid ordered. To her surprise, Nimbus froze.

Queen Blizzard sidled beside Gelid and glowered at Nimbus. "You have no authorisation to be in the palace, Nimbus."

"I'm not? I mean of course - course I'm not. I was just...um...I thought I would...uh," Nimbus looked up, thinking of a reason. "Passing by?" He said nervously.

"Were you spying on our discussion?" Gelid asked.

"No! Of course not! I would never! I'm a good icewing! I can't listen. I'm - I'm deaf in this ear." He vigorously pointed at his ear.

"Why would you – never mind. GUARDS!" Gelid yelled. Two burly icewings raced into the corridor, tapping their spears against the floor as they ran.

"Show yourself to the dungeons. That's an order from the queen. I'll deal with you later," Queen Blizzard said, glancing at the icewings guards and then heading back to the centre of the room.

"Yes, yessss - of course, I'll do that." Nimbus walked as calmly as he could towards the guards. Gelid watched him. He took one last glance at Gelid as one of the guards hurried him away.

"One of you follow him and make sure he gets to the dungeon, the other resume guarding this floor." Gelid ordered, then closing the door and resuming the discussion.

"That dragon," Mist stared at the door. "He looks like..."

"Let me guess, he looks like Prince North?" Gelid guessed, meeting Mist's surprised face.

"Yes, yes he does." And after that, Mist stayed silent.

The discussion went on for another hour before Queen Blizzard decided to call it a night and let the tired icewings sleep. She declared that she'd talk to Queen Firefly in the morning (she probably would send Gelid to deal with Nimbus later when remembered to) and arrange a visit to the rainforest, hoping to speak with her about the recent events. That way, Gelid could also catch up with Lava in the nightwing village.

Gelid wanted to stay in Queen Blizzard's chamber just to make sure no other icewing "passes by" and to keep her safe but she figured after her and Mist's argument that Queen Blizzard was not in the mood. So Gelid left her alone to rest - knowing that it has been a long and tiresome day.

Gelid settled on her slate of ice and lowered her head to rest on her legs. She tried to sleep, tried to fall into a slumber but her mind was still racing over today and tonight. She contemplated on getting up and taking a walk around the palace. That usually worked.

Then as she decided to do just that, there was a rush of beating wings outside and a shape that flew into view of her window. Gelid glimpsed out, realising that the shape was Mist flying away.

 _Towards Rain's Merriment._ Gelid thought. _She is sending a message...or she responding to it. That's makes more sense. Someone has to follow her._

Gelid quickly followed into the air after Mist. They flew past the Great Ice Cliff. Gelid followed steadily. Not too far behind for Mist to hear her wing beats but enough to keep up. Though, Gelid swore she saw Mist glance back a few times but her course never steered away so either she never saw Gelid or she did but didn't care.

The graceful white snow was perturbed by the taiga tree spikes. Thin trees grew along the edges and then the wider healthier trees grew into the centre. The roof of green and frosty leaves was impeded by the jagged line of an icy stream. Immediately on the other side of the stream was a giant tree with snaking roots and glistening leaves that glowed subtly. Rain's Merriment.

There was a small clearing around the base with small shrubs of trees along the outskirts. Mist landed and looked up at the tree. Gelid thought of landing nearby and then watch from a distance but Mist wasn't moving in the dull light and she looked...sad. Almost.

Gelid landed on the edge of the clearing. Mist twisted her head to look.

"I thought I saw someone following me," Mist said with a ripple of dark green scales, then returning to lavender. Perhaps she was too tired to be angry. "Did you write the message?"

"Me?"

"I take that as a no," Mist sighed. "There's only one dragon I can think of who could've and had that talon-writing."

"Who?" She walked forward, inspecting the trunk of the tree.

"My father," Mist answered, looking up at the tree again.

"You think your father is an animus? Wouldn't someone have known?" If North was an animus then that would mean that Mist would also be carrying the infamous animus gene, even if she wasn't an animus.

"Blizzard said it already: ' icewings haven't had an animus in centuries' and even if he was he didn't have to reveal it. We stopped doing the animus tests a long time ago. But if he was...I thought he'd trust me enough to tell me," Mist brooded. She looked sad, sad enough that it almost looked like she was going to cry.

And Mist was the last dragon Gelid thought of to cry, apart from herself.

Gelid did not want to see Mist cry, mostly out of awkwardness and the destruction of the image that Gelid had in her head that Mist was a honourable stone-cold dragon.

"Listen, I'm sorry of not trusting you, even if you seem like a very irksome dragon," Gelid said.

"Hmph," Mist exhaled heavily. "I can't blame you. I can't seem to do anything right."

 _Wow._ That was far too self-conscious than Gelid ever hoped for. She didn't like it. "So why are you staying in the ice kingdom, just out of curiosity?" She added.

Mist's brow raised with a questioning look.

"You sounded genuine when you said that you wanted to leave. You can do what you want, can't you?" Gelid said.

"I guess...but..." Mist looked away, her tail turning orange, purple and dark purple. "You were right about Blizzard. She's the only dragon alive who cares about me. It feels bad to just...leave her. I'm her only heir too. I know she expects me to challenge her one day, not that I would, being queen sounds terrible."

 _I hate being right sometimes._ "Put it this way: least you have a better reason to yell at dragons."

Mist almost laughed, holding it back with a slight curve of her snout. She breathed deeply. "Perhaps."

Gelid almost laughed herself. Fighting it back because Mist probably would've gouged her eyes out.

"I'm sorry about yelling at you. I know you're just doing your job protecting your queen against threats. I am a very threatening dragon," Mist said. "I realise that now. You're a very determined dragon."

"My life would not be the same without Queen Blizzard. I owe her everything."

"Why do you say that?" Mist asked intriguingly.

"She let me prove myself. When I was a dragonet, I never seemed to do things correctly or I did, then not long enough because my ranking was always-"She lifted a talon off a short distance from the ground"-low. Until she came along."

"That explains why I never saw you around the palace and then suddenly you were there," Mist thought deeply and then shrugged. "Why you?"

"What do you mean 'why me?'?"

"Blizzard doesn't do things of randomness, she does things because she's calculating and smart. She chose you for a reason and something is telling me that it wasn't because your rank was low," Mist offered. "There's another reason."

Gelid had never thought of it that way. Maybe she didn't know Queen Blizzard at all. Now that Mist pointed it out, it didn't seem right that the reason was because her rank was low all those years ago. There was something else.

She'd ask when she got the opportunity.

* * *

It was the morning after. Queen Blizzard was going back to the palace after speaking to Nimbus with Gelid beside her for the entire time. Other icewings bowed deeply as soon as they saw Queen Blizzard walk pass and Gelid kept her distance so the queen could nod back at them.

The palace courtyard was in view and there weren't any dragons around except for the guards that looked as awake and alerted as ever. This was the opportunity.

"Your majesty, can I ask you a question?" Gelid asked.

"If it's about Mist then I might not answer," Queen Blizzard replied.

"No, actually, it's about me," Queen Blizzard nodded. "Why did you pick me to be your bodyguard?"

Queen Blizzard paused, her gaze not meeting Gelid's.

"I'm honoured, truthfully but this is a subject of curiosity to me. There were many more dragonets that day that would've loved to have this job, better dragonets than me. You had a whole range to pick from and you picked me, a dragonet from the seventh circle with weird grey scales," Gelid explained. She hoped Queen Blizzard wasn't irritated but her face never changed.

Queen Blizzard sighed, speaking after a long moment. "It's better if I show you." She continued towards the palace.

 _Show me what?_ Gelid pondered, following quietly.

They entered the palace and Queen Blizzard walked into a corridor on the immediate left and then another left into a room. _The delivery room,_ as Gelid realised, gazing at a high shelf containing open boxes half-filled with letters. There was a bench with a box on top named "Academy letters".

Queen Blizzard glanced at the box and then looked at the high shelf, her eyes scanning for something. Gelid tried to follow her line of sight.

"I remember sending you to Jade Mountain Academy," Queen Blizzard started to explain. She placed her talons on a shelf and lifted her neck to gaze to the higher arranged boxes on the shelf. "I sent you there after your father sent me a letter explaining one simple reason why you should go: 'she needs to interact with other dragons'. Which was a better reason than many, surprisingly."

"I remember, I didn't have any friends back at home."

"But after seven months, you came back. You could imagine my face when I heard about that," Queen Blizzard said to Gelid. She couldn't imagine her face. "You were the first dragonet in three decades to leave the Academy without spending at least one year there. I knew there had to be a good reason."

"I left to work on my ranking," Gelid said briefly. "I remember that more than almost anything."

"You left to work on your rankings," She echoed, then pulling a small box filled with both opened and unopened letters. "That's when you became a subject of curiosity to me. No icewing dragonet had ever left Jade Academy to work on their rankings as determined as you. Naturally, I became concerned. Then your parents began sending more and more letters to me."

Queen Blizzard dug her talon into the box and searched for a letter, looking at one she grabbed and then dropped it back in, picking up another. She looked at it and then passed it to Gelid.

It was a letter to Queen Blizzard from her mother. She was unsure if she was allowed to tear it open.

"Go on, open it," Queen Blizzard invited.

Gelid sliced the top of the letter parchment and then carefully dropped the separate letter out into her talon, opening it. The letter read:

 _"Dear dearest and magnificent Queen Blizzard._

 _This is a letter, again, concerning the activity of our youngest and only dragonet._

 _Her behaviour recently is not proper icewing behaviour, she, however, refuses to listen to me, the highest-ranking member of this family._

 _I implore you for a ranking change._

 _It is, to my knowledge, that her rank does not substantiate true icewing traits and is more deserving of an icewing of proper behaviour, not my disgraceful daughter._

 _Her rank needs to drop, how ever decrease is up to you and how you see fit._

 _Her name is Gelid._

 _May shining moons complement you._

 _\- Mistral, member of the sixth-circle, married to Penguin."_

Gelid wasn't sure how to feel. Her own mother wrote this about her. Every one of her scales wanting to lift off and claw her mother's 'high ranking sixth circle' talons off. Seal guts. She felt awful.

"Did you read it?" Queen Blizzard asked.

Gelid nodded solemnly, now wishing she never asked.

"They haven't sent a letter since I told them that you started living in the palace upon my wishes," Queen Blizzard said. "I'm all about second chances. I wanted to give you a chance and for me to see whether your parents did know what was best for you - to not allow you to grow into the higher rankings."

 _She did this for me. I truly do owe her everything. Everything. My parents were the worst and I always knew I never needed them._

 _I understand now._

 _To Mist as well. You're giving her the chance to decide whether she'll stay in the ice kingdom or not. You're doing that because that's the kind of dragon you are. A kind and fair one._

 _I'll never forget what you've done for me._


	7. Chapter 6

"How can any dragon trust her?" Puffin asked. Her snout raised into the air and she watched the air with hatred in her dark-blue eyes.

Gelid looked around the courtyard. There was a small group of icewing dragonets surrounding the Tree of Light. One was trying to climb up as a shadow flew past overhead, loosing his footing and fell into the flurry of small wings. Puffin couldn't have been talking about one of the dragonets, surely.

"Trust who?" Gelid asked, looking up at the older icewing.

Puffin nodded to the sky.

Above, Mist flew laps around the towers of the palace swiftly, despite her weight. Her wings seemed more than able to support her. She zoomed over them, starting another lap and she swerved around the next tower and behind the snow rooftops.

The sky was blue but slowly turning grey with the arrival of clouds. She guessed it was the beginning of snowstorm season.

"She's..." Gelid struggled to find an appropriate answer. She admitted to herself that she didn't trust Mist a week ago until that night she followed Mist to Rain's Merriment. Mist did understand the results of her actions, even if it took a few hours for her to realise it. Mist didn't seem to harbour any threats or danger to Queen Blizzard, just other icewings that stepped on all of her scales.

So Gelid wasn't quite sure how trustworthy Mist was in her mind.

"Agonising? Cruel? Has no resentment and only cares about herself?" Puffin suggested coldly. A cold stream of frosty air shot from her nose in a heavy exhale. Gelid had to agree with the middle option but the latter was, as far as Gelid was concerned, not as true as it seemed.

"Well, if Queen Blizzard trusts her then it might be a good idea for us to do the same. I mean, she is a princess," Gelid said, wondering how much of that she believed. How much would Queen Blizzard have to trust Mist for the rest of the icewings to follow up?

"A princess shouldn't attack her own - except if it was for a good reason and she doesn't have any," Puffin said boldly. Gelid had to agree with that. "Have you seen the way she looks at everyone? It's like suddenly she's queen and everyone should be bowing to her. I, for one, am never going to bow to her."

Gelid questioned Puffin's sudden agitation. Gelid initially knew Puffin as a lot more...well, kinder than her present behaviour and if she wasn't then she excused herself from the presence of other dragons and came back with cooler scales.

"Is this about Squall?" She pressed, watching Puffin's expression.

Puffin's eyes narrowed to black slits, even as she still gazed at the sky. Her snout curled down with gritting teeth.

" _Yessssss_ ," Puffin hissed slowly, the edges of her teeth glimmered through her snout. "He's a kind dragon, just following orders and doing whatever is asked of him. And now, because of her, he may never walk or fly properly again. How many icewings lives does she need to ruin before someone does something?"

"If you're threatening the life of a princess or plotting it, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you in," Gelid said. Though, some small, squashed part of her agreed with the idea.

Puffin sighed, her expression relaxing as she looked down at her talons. "Apologies. I didn't mean it that way. I'm just saying that needs some...obedience lessons. Just someone to order her around for an hour a day."

Gelid laughed. "Order Mist around? You-" Puffin glared at Gelid. " _You're_ serious...really serious. Ahem." Gelid faked a cough to remove the laugh from her throat, resettling her pose.

"Of course I'm serious. She needs someone to whip her into an icewing shape. And her scales too. Her scales are _soooo_ creepy," Puffin said, lifting a talon and inspecting her scales.

"You can't change a dragon's scales. Maybe their behaviour but definitely not their scales," _Not unless you rip them off._ Gelid thought gruesomely. She begun to think of a skywing that lived long ago but was distracted by Puffin talking.

"I know, but..." Puffin stared off into the distance. _You would if you could_. Puffin didn't need to finish her sentence for Gelid to understand what she was saying.

It was clear as ice that Puffin didn't like Mist with one inch of her scales. Not one.

"You were right to stand up to her," Puffin commended to Gelid.

"I did what I felt I had to do." _Even if now I feel a bit bad for doing it._ Gelid thought.

"That's as much as any of us can do right now," Puffin said. "Where are you going again?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

"To the rainforest. Queen Blizzard arranged a meeting with Queen Firefly to talk about the recent events. We're leaving today. At least the rainwings and the sandwings haven't lost their heads over this Mirror Incident like the skywings have," Gelid said. "I thought you're coming along."

"I wish." Puffin breathed deeply. "I'm overlooking Squall's rehabilitation, which includes battle training. My poor, _poor_ Squall." She added affectionately with a shaking head.

"A little penguin whispered in my ear that you and Squall are getting married. True?" Gelid asked.

"True!" Puffin said with a sudden burst of excitement, almost leaping off her tail. "It's very true. Her majesty, Queen Blizzard approved, and we're getting married in a month, most likely two if Squall doesn't recuperate his strength in time."

"And you're moving into the western palace with his family?"

"The _Sterling_ Palace," Puffin beamed. "It has the most exquisite and rarest animal pelts in the entire kingdom. I think I'm going to like there..."

Puffin went on and on about the beauty of the Sterling Palace, explaining every single pelt found in the palace, the nobles that lived there, and the names of the dragonets she'd pick when she had them. Gelid was happy that Puffin's sour expression and tone went away.

As time went on, more icewings gathered and waited in the courtyard, waiting for the esteemed Queen Blizzard to finish preparing and fly towards the rainforest. Clouds began to accumulate overhead, covering the sky in thick grey blanket. Snow fell lightly in small puffs and exquisite snowflakes, marking the beginning of the snowstorm season.

Gelid hoped they'd leave quickly. She never liked seeing the palace layered in deep snow and she was always glad that she wasn't one of the miserable icewings that worked on clearing the snow every other day of snowstorm season.

Puffin grunted after some time and walked off, with Gelid wondering why she left without a proper farewell. Then she spotted Mist and instantly understood.

Mist shook off the snow on her wings as soon she landed and examined all the waiting icewings that murmured quietly. She spotted Gelid and trudged towards her.

"When are we leaving?" Mist asked her with no hint of tiredness in her breath. It was as if the few hundred laps around the palace did nothing to her stamina.

Why couldn't Mist at least try to be polite to the other icewings? If they were ever going to be her future subjects then it would be best to get to know them.

"Soon. Waiting for Queen Blizzard. She's still using the conveyance mirror." Gelid pointed to the palace. "You're coming too?"

"Of course I am. I've got nothing better to do. Firefly and I have some catching up to do," Mist briefly explained. "Maybe I might talk to her about-"She glanced at the nearby icewings"-...never mind." Mist began to walk away to an isolated part of the courtyard.

"Wait, Mist." Gelid called, herding her away from the icewings. She stopped by the block of ice that Mist was carving into. It roughly formed an indescribable dragon shape as a dragon standing with their wings tucked beside them. "Are you going to tell Queen Blizzard about the thing - your father?"

Queen Blizzard did take a brief look at the note but didn't anything of it or asked questions. Or she pretended not to care or think of it.

"Are you going to?"

"I promised that I wouldn't. This is something between you. So either you decide it's worth telling Queen Blizzard or to keep quiet about it."

Mist gritted her teeth, looking at her talons. "I have no idea what to tell her, if I should. The note could be lying."

"But?" Gelid prompted.

Mist watched the other icewings as she talked. "But it might be true. If he's an animus then he could've faked his death somehow and tried to tell me but clearly I missed it. If he's alive then he's out there somewhere and I'm going to find him."

"By yourself?" Gelid thought about helping Mist but Queen Blizzard needed the protection and Mist seemed more than able to handle herself. She imagined Queen Blizzard's relief if she saw North again.

"Yes...maybe. If I tell Blizzard then I could command a squadron to find him...but nothing comes to mind of where to start so it's best if I keep it to myself - ourselves," Mist corrected, turning to the palace.

Queen Blizzard finally shot out of the palace and landed in the courtyard with her wings still spread. "Alright, icewings, we leave this instant!" She ordered, lifting into the air.

Gelid lifted into the air after Mist.

The band of icewings then started their journey towards the rainforest.

* * *

Gelid watched as Queen Blizzard polished her scales, staring at herself through a mirror. Not a conveyance mirror, just an ordinary mirror. Translucent leaves allowed whatever sunlight to beam into the room, making Queen Blizzard's scales sparkle and sparkle even more on her polished scales.

The meeting only lasted for a short time, starting instantaneously when the icewings arrived to a point where Queen Blizzard wanted to pause the discussion and continue it the next day because of tiredness. Gelid had to agree. She wasn't tired but she could tell by Queen Blizzard's lack of consistent talking that she was exhausted.

Queen Firefly gave her a room in the treetops to rest. Gelid didn't need to sleep as often as other icewings so she mostly stayed by the doorway in silence during visits. But now, being in the rainforest with Mist, made her more alert. The last time she was here Mist attacked her queen and Gelid failed to do her job.

But also, the last time she was here she found - or rather, was found by a friend and she promised to visit him again the next time she got.

Gelid was subtly torn by her job and a promise, hoping her struggling thoughts weren't too loud.

"What's with that face?" Queen Blizzard asked, not looking at Gelid but fiddling with a bone earring in her ear.

Seal guts. Could Gelid not keep a straight face? "Nothing of importance, your majesty."

"Was that about the discussion? You're welcome to input. You are a first circle member after all," Queen Blizzard said, unlatching the earring and the other earring, dropping them both into small box. She then slid the box into a pouch.

 _I think you mean I'm scrapping at the very bottom. First in the second circle almost sounds better than last in the first circle._

"It's better for more...communicative dragons to do the talking, such as yourself and Queen Firefly. I'm just there to look scary," Gelid said.

"Yes, indeed you are," smiled Queen Blizzard.

And that was the end of that conversation. Though, outside, Gelid could hear Queen Firefly and Mist talking.

She ducked her head through a pair of draping cloths covering the doorway and listened carefully. Queen Firefly and Mist were on the platform above.

"I never asked: how is it that you and your mother are both alive when you're queen and she's not?" Clearly that was Mist's voice. But there was something so casual and calm in her tone that Gelid hadn't heard before.

Queen Firefly thought for a long moment, tapping her claws on the platform before speaking. "It's all about the Royal challenge," she said. "The queens before my mother had a tradition that the former queens would choose the challenge and reveal it to the challenger when the day came."

"Of course, 'the rainwing way', as many have said."

"Well...my mother did that the day after I announced my challenge for the throne. I was expecting something like 'what would I do if a tribe wanted war on the rainforest?' or 'what kind of punishment would you give this dragon if they did this thing?' but...it was not what I was expecting," Queen Firefly said, her voice almost reducing to a mumble.

"Was it a fight?" Mist asked.

There was a long pause before Queen Firefly spoke. "Yes...it was a fight."

"Between who?"

"Between me...and my mother."

Mist gasped. Gelid sensed the worry in her tone. "But you - her - your mother-"

"Yes, we're alive still," Queen Firefly interjected. "But at that time...I didn't know, I wasn't ready, a fight was the last thing I expected." She sighed.

Queen Firefly continued. "She said to me 'the challenge that I, current queen of the rainwings, has chosen for you is: a fight to the death'. The whole kingdom gasped. I gasped. I didn't - I knew I couldn't but there was no going back. So we fought, and the only rule was she couldn't use anything other than our talons, teeth and strength. The fight went on for a while until...I had my mother under my talons.

"I had her scales under me, her blood on my claws and...every single eye in the kingdom on me. I had the chance. I could've killed her."

"Well clearly you didn't," Mist said. "What happened?"

"I couldn't. I just couldn't. Not when my father was watching. Not when the entire kingdom was watching. Not when I was the killer. So I said 'no, I'm not going to kill you.' Then my mother asked 'why not? Do you think this kingdom deserves a weak queen like you? One that can't even complete the challenge of becoming?' And I said to her 'maybe it does deserve a weak queen. But I'd rather be weak than one that cannot see the future of her actions. I'd rather be weak than compassionate, weak rather than smart.

"I'd rather fail the challenge than lose one of the most important dragons in the rainforest - the entire continent even.' And then I started walking away, thinking that I'd never make a good queen. Then mother said to me 'congratulations, my daughter, Firefly. Queen Firefly' and she bowed. She bowed at me and I started crying.

"She chose that challenge specifically to see what I'd say and do."

Gelid had heard that Glory gave the throne the Queen Firefly after the challenge but she never heard it in this detail. It sounded devastating. What if Firefly really killed Glory? Gelid guessed she still had the right to the throne but she'd live without ever knowing the true intention of the challenge.

 _Would I rather have a queen that can kill and do what is required of her? Or a queen who knows the difference between necessity and desire? Between following orders of the one before her or making her own?_

Gelid couldn't imagine making those choices as a queen. Thank the moons that Gelid wasn't of royal blood.

"I'd say a throne well deserved," Mist said, followed by what sounded like Mist wrapping a wing over Queen Firefly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Queen Firefly exhaled deeply. "You're here now, which is more than I can ask for."

Now it was getting awkward. Gelid didn't want to listen anymore but she knew that even if she ducked her head back inside that she'd still be able to hear their voices.

Then she spotted Pale halfway across a bridge approaching Queen Blizzard's room and an idea struck her.

Gelid ducked her head back in. Queen Blizzard was organising a bench beside the mirror. "Your majesty, can I call in that favour?" She asked Queen Blizzard.

"The seeing your friend favour?" Gelid nodded. "Of course, go right ahead"

"Thank you." Gelid swooped past the cloth drapes, feeling the cloth brush over her wings and spikes. She called out to Pale. "Pale, protect the queen until I get back."

Pale looked surprised, as if he was only taking a stroll. "Erm, will do." He said, hurrying over.

Gelid spread her wings and glided off the platform, lifting into the air as soon as she couldn't see Mist and Queen Firefly.

She heard Pale ask something but Gelid was already too far to respond so she continued on her path to the nightwing village.

The flight there seemed shorter than flying from Vine Square and she never saw any guards patrolling. She guessed the celebrations made the entire forest uneasy, especially as all the queens attended, and sure enough, there was havoc and panic that was blamed on the Talons of Power. That was what prompted the Mirror Incident. The Talons of Power got their scruffy, rotting talons on a mirror to use and redirect their anger in a 'useful' way.

There hadn't been any reported disappearances lately or attacks or sightings from the Talons of Power in the last three months. Gelid wondered if they were waiting until the continent was in enough chaos to strike, like Hyena mentioned, like the events in the desert all those decades ago when Queen Thorn's reign had only started.

Gelid considered commandeering a squadron to hunt them down. Queen Blizzard would've allowed that motion but her queen's protection was more important.

Gelid flew slowly over the village until she arrived at the centre where the ground was flat and empty and sunlight streamed to the floor.

Where would Lava be right now? He mentioned his job as a day patrol so was he patrolling somewhere in the forest? Had Gelid come at the entirely wrong time? Should she have awaited until dusk when Lava would mostly return to the village?

Maybe she was a complete narwhal for not thinking this far ahead.

An orange skywing flew overhead, not acknowledging Gelid even though she stuck out like an oasis in a desert. The orange dragon kept flying and Gelid watched, wondering what in the blazes a dragon like that was doing in the nightwing village. Then she remembered that she was in the village too.

Her gaze followed the skywing until it shifted on a slow, moving figure sitting and peering into an open store front. Lava! Her mind almost sung ignobly.

Gelid bounded to the brown and red dragon, soon catching his attention.

"Oh!" Lava blurted, his face then glittering with a smile. He returned his eyes into the store that smelled of sweetness. "Make that six please," he said, then changing his mind. "Actually can you hold this here for later? I'll pay now." His claws opened a bag that hung around his neck and he shuffled a few coins and pressed them on the store front bench.

Gelid then realised that it was a food store and almost wanted to wrack herself with her own tail for her slow realisation. _Of course it's a food store. It's smells too weird to be anything else._

The store occupied a small section of the market and was almost cave-like apart from vents along the sides and one on the ceiling. There were small circular pastry items on shelves with the ones furthest fuming with steam.

Gelid noticed the blacksmiths directly behind this shop, only separated by a gap that allowed dragons to wander between the two freely. Forgelight wasn't there and the darkness coated the soundless metal and stone.

A nightwing with silvery underscales and glittery black eyes had a small, foggy smile as he hummed, swiping three pastry things from a shelf at the rear next to fireplace carpeted with small glowing charcoals, and then another three from a shelf to the left into a green-leaf bag. He slid the bag under a shelf, came to the storefront and collected the shiny coins.

"How long?" asked the nightwing.

Lava tilted his head. "Maybe four hours?" he answered, unsure.

The nightwing shrugged and begun slicing some kind of soft, flat and thin square on a side bench.

"You're here!" Lava said to Gelid, reigniting his excitement. "This is great!"

"I should've sent a message ahead that I would be coming to the rainforest. Things have been a bit chaotic recently," Gelid said.

"So what? You're here now and today is going to be awesome," Lava said. "Come, come, you should meet my friends." He beckoned, standing and flicking his tail to a spot outside the markets.

He guided her to a small, dusty garden with small brown and golden grassy, spiky and shrewd plants and a single marshy green cactus in the middle with no thorns. Outside the garden were stone benches, all empty except for a middle bench with two nightwings sitting and staring at a wooden board with smaller carved red and blue wooden pieces.

One had pure black scales with black eyes, whereas the other had lighter, greyer scales and midnight green underscales.

The pure black nightwing looked up from the board as Lava and Gelid approached, and he tapped the bench, alerting the other nightwing. They looked no older than nine, possibly even eight but around the same size as Gelid.

"Blackout! Deception!" Lava called cheerfully. What kind of name was Deception? Were the parents intentionally making no other dragon trust their offspring? "Meet my icewing friend I told you about!"

They looked more interested then, their eyes widening and tilting over Lava's wings to gaze at Gelid.

"An icewing," said the slightly greenish nightwing. Gelid still had no idea who that was but she did have one out of two guesses. "That's cool," she said casually.

Lava whispered into Gelid's ear and said. "Don't mind Deception. Her name doesn't suit her and she's very friendly."

"Noted," Gelid replied, and Lava smiled.

Lava sat next to who Gelid assumed to be Blackout. Gelid sat across from him and next to Deception.

"Where's the food?" Blackout asked Lava.

Lava showed his empty talons and looked at them, as if, for a moment, he forgotten about the food and then remembered where it was.

"Ignore him. He's just sour that he's losing, again," Deception smirked to Blackout.

Suddenly Gelid felt like a dragonet again.

"Am not!" Blackout said defiantly, slamming his talons on top of the bench, making the board rattle. "I'll have you know that the best players often lose the most pieces before striking and taking out their opponents' queen and castle!"

Taking out the opponent's queen? Was this some form of twisted military plan being joked about as a game? Who were the nightwings fighting against? The Talons of Power?

"Mmhmm, totally," Deception almost rolled her eyes.

Blackout resumed to sit reasonably mannered and his tongue flickered in and out, watching the board sharply.

Deception tapped the wooden checkered board, then moving a blue painted wooden of dragon with a spear carving from a corner and swiftly switched it with a red carving of a dragon spurting fire from their snout, next to a miniature castle. "Hah! Seized! I win!"

Whatever Deception did made Blackout roar and he pointed his snout into the air, sending a plume of fire above their heads. Deception started laughing. Lava snorted, rolling his eyes.

"What's this?" Gelid finally asked, unsure if she was missing something important here.

Deception closed her snout with her talons and then breathed. "Scales and Castles," she answered, unbinding her snout after recovering from her laughter.

Blackout closed his snout with smoke piping from between his lips and he crossed his talons, looking unhappy.

"What's Scales and Castles?" Gelid asked further.

Deception looked at her with wide eyes and then at Blackout, who then mimicked the same expression.

"You've never played Scales and Castles?" Deception asked, sounding as if Gelid had just stabbed her tail with a dagger. "What - how - how have you lived without playing a round of Scales and Castles?" She started keening.

"Um, no."

"Scales and Castles is a nightwing past-time, Deception. Remember? I told you the mudwing dragonets didn't have this game either," Lava said. His gaze then shifted to Gelid. "It's a board game where each dragon starts with twelve pieces at one side,-"he pointed at the board"- each one having their own abilities. The goal is to attack their castle or take their opponents queen to their own side of the board." He explained.

"Sounds complicated," Gelid said, already forgetting what he explained.

Blackout huffed, agreeing with Lava.

"It is not!" Deception said. "It's easy to learn. It's almost like speaking."

"She just wants someone else to feel intellectually superior over," Blackout said, grinning. "Don't be suckered into the game," He said to Gelid.

Gelid noticed herself relaxing, even around the new nightwings. The atmosphere of the nightwing was a lot more pleasant than the ice kingdom, especially with the tension between many icewings and Mist. And the nightwing village was incredibly calm and empty, with almost all of the nightwings sleeping.

She guessed Deception and Blackout were also part of the day patrol with Lava.

"You're smart, just not when you're playing this," Deception said.

"I'm not particularly good at the game either. Deception is the champion of Scales and Castles," Lava said.

"I think you mean to say the _Queen_ of Scales and Castles."

"Yeah, that."

Then Gelid heard a faint rumbling.

Blackout put a talon over his stomach and the rumbling stopped. "So what are we going to eat?" He asked eagerly.

"Actually, I was hoping we could go hunting," Lava said.

Deception shrugged. "Sure, I could use the exercise."

"Hunting?" Gelid pondered. How long would that take? Would they be gone for long? What about Queen Blizzard?

"Yeah. Not in the rainforest but outside, along the border is deer and goats and large peacock birds and..." Blackout almost trailed off. "Oh! And very tasty capybaras! OK! I'm in, lets go hunting!" He said, convincing himself.

"I don't know if I should, Queen Blizzard wouldn't want me gone for very long," Gelid said, unconvinced.

"Queen Blizzard?" Deception asked but Gelid didn't quite hear what she said over Lava's voice.

"Come on. We won't be gone for too long. If we don't catch anything we can have pies," Lava said. The nightwings stared at her, waiting for an answer.

 _As long as I'm not gone for long...I suppose some hunting would take my mind away from everything that has happened so far._

Gelid agreed and the small pack of dragons took off into the skies of the rainforest and towards the border to hunt prey.


	8. Chapter 7

The glint of blue, green and dark feathers rustled along the clear path of trees. Gelid tucked her wings. The air whistled past her scales and she succumbed into a dive with her talons outstretched. The sun angled perfectly so that her shadow was too far behind for her prey to notice.

The bird had a thin and long neck with a small head. It never noticed as Gelid descended closer and closer, carefully spreading her wings. She reached forward, hoping to grab the neck and let it dangle from her talons before killing it.

The bird stood still but turned its neck at the last second as Gelid lurched to grab it and her talons missed instead, flying past its neck.

Missed.

Gelid spread her wings out fully, letting her speed drag her back into the heights of the sky.

"Crashing glaciers!" Gelid roared. She circled twice in the air and then hovered, beating her wings with fire along the edges of her wings. The bird ran across the field of bushy-short shrubs and thin trees, and disappeared into the cloak of taller trees and shadows.

Hunting in and near the rainforest was enough for her to turn into a red skywing. Though, she knew and expected things to be different. First of all, there wasn't any snow, no white or pale colours except the sky to camouflage into. And it didn't help that her scales were all the wrong colours for this.

Except for nightwings and rainwings. One had camouflage scales to turn invisible or into different colours. The other had scales perfect for hiding in shadows and dusk.

And Gelid? She might as well have been shouting.

 _Not in the ice kingdom though_ , Gelid thought. _The nightwings would definitely stick out. Too cold for any other dragon. The Great Ice Cliff would probably kill them anyway._

Blackout and Lava approached, watching. Lava swerved upwards, circling above Gelid. Blackout hovered by her, with a carcass of a plump, brown furry animal that looked almost like a bear cub but without the large teeth and with short legs.

"It's alright!" Blackout shouted to Gelid. "Those things are hard to predict. That's why I don't try to catch them!"

Gelid scanned the horizon, spinning around as she did, her eyes predicting a black dot to appear out of nowhere. "Where's Deception?" Gelid asked, finally giving up.

"Chasing a peacock," Blackout said, nodding towards the dark valleys between the mountains. "She likes collecting their tail feathers. You should see her home."

Gelid snorted. She did imagine it. She imagined a house carpeted by green and blue feathers, some hanging by the ceiling and the walls decorated by them. Honestly, it didn't seem too bad of an idea. Swan's headdress had peacock feathers if she remembered correctly.

Strong gusts fell on her wings and Gelid twisted out of way, eyeing Lava who was above her in the air. He stared towards the sun and then pointed to a decrepit mountain wall between two rivers with fresh greenery on the other side.

"I think I saw some small horses over there. Want to go have a look?" Lava asked Gelid.

"Sure."

"I'll wait for you two over at Hunter's Rock." Blackout flew away to a smaller mountain with ridged rock claws around the base but had a flat plateau at the peak.

Gelid and Lava flew side by side until they arrived close to the ridge. Lava soared over the ridge and above the lush and vine-filled treetops, while Gelid broke off and swerved around.

She landed as silently as she could behind a rocky outcropping with a single eroded hole in the thin rock. Her scales stuck out easily, especially in the brightness of the day. Hiding and watching carefully was a good attribute to have.

Through the hole were the trunks of bronze trees and fur-thin vines hanging from the tree tops.

A blunt mound under her talon gave way, breaking into shards and falling, splitting into countless pebbles as it descended. Her wings flapped against the fall of her body and she dug her claws into the wall with a screech until it locked in.

Then she saw tiny brown animals under the trees through the gaping hole in the rock. They grazed without worry and there were about nine of them, and two small calves in the middle of the small herd. Even at this angle, she predicted catching one if she was fast enough. If not, then Lava would swoop down the unsuspecting prey after being startled by Gelid.

She plucked her claws from the rock and slowly rose, flattening her claws against the very top of the paper wall and then launched herself, pulling her wings as close as she could to her body to avoid the vines.

The prey realised at the last second.

One fell, bleating, under Gelid's claws as the others shrieked and galloped with speed through the short forest. A big shape crashed through the leaves, landing on top of two. That was enough food.

Gelid had to let the small prey out of its misery, biting its head off quickly. As for Lava's prey, she guessed his weight crushed them instantly. As least his way was a lot less messy.

The rest of the herd cleared the small forest, never being seen again, even as Gelid and Lava took off into the sky, hauling the kill. She guessed the herd fled into the rainforest, never again to set foot out of the safety of the denser and darker trees.

The horse that Gelid killed was slightly bigger than either of Lava's two horses and she struggled to get it angled correctly to not let it fall while she flew. Carefully, she held it up with both of her front talons and swiftly flew after Lava.

They followed the river closest to the rainforest and soared higher above the smaller mountains and towards a plateau.

"Why is it called Hunter's Rock?" Gelid asked.

Lava glided until he was back far enough to yell to Gelid. "Because the best hunts are around the mountain! Almost every month there is a new herd of animals passing through. It makes for some great hunting! And there's a surviving scavenger den not far from here!"

Gelid had never tasted scavenger before. She'd ask Lava next time but today, the horses would be enough.

Blackout had already torn into the plump furry carcass when Gelid landed. He took a glance at them and the horses and then dug his teeth in the carcass again.

"Enjoying that?" Lava asked.

Blackout paused and nodded, not saying anything because off the piece of meat between his jaw.

Lava looked out to the horizon. There was fog amassing around the mountain, forming a dangerous unseen sea of rocky faces. The sky was partially blocked of sunlight, forming a cascade of glowing lines throughout the cloudy sky like a cracked glacier.

"Deception is probably still trying to catch the birds. I wonder what's taking her so long," Lava mumbled. It sounded like he was talking to himself, like he was one of those dragons that thought out loud.

Gelid felt her stomach rumble and remembered that there was a fresh horse under her talons. She ate half of it and then chucked the rest at Lava for him to eat. Mudwings ate a lot, she heard. Or perhaps that was Clay. There were definitely icewings that ate far more than other dragons did, even if they weren't exactly big dragons.

Blackout had already finished eating, leaving tufts of fur to catch the wind, and dance along the flat ground. He was cleaning the red marks from around his snout before his head poked up, staring into the distance.

"Deception's coming," he said.

Gelid followed his gaze. Deception was a few peaks away with three bundles of feathers in her talons.

" _Ooooohh_ , she has _three_ peacocks. A new record! I'm going to help her." Blackout spread his wings and lifted into the sky, flapping towards the black dot in the distance.

Gelid felt Lava shuffle beside her, already finished one horse he caught and the other half she gave him.

"They are something, aren't they?" Lava asked. Gelid didn't think so. They seemed to be good friends, as expected. "Um, anyway. I wanted to tell you something, Gelid," he said to her.

"Tell me what?"

"Well, um, you see..." his talons shifted uncomfortably, making himself look smaller than he actually was. Mudwings grew quite large as far as Gelid knew, and were quite strong, stronger than the usual icewing at least.

"Don't throw a stalactite at me or anything," he said. "But I'm in the Talons of Power."

Gelid instantly stood up and backed away slowly, feeling the spikes on her tail open up and curl near her feet defensively. Lava! Lava in the Talons of Power! Who would have ever known?

Was it worse than she feared? Had the Talons already spread influence to the night village? How much? Have they already infected the other kingdoms too?

The ice kingdom wouldn't have, surely. Every icewing was loyal to Queen Blizzard and the tribe. They would never betray each other.

Then she thought of Mist.

"It's not what you think! I would never hurt my friends," he promised, already sensing that this was a bad idea. He threw his tail under his feet and tucked his wings close. "I just - um."

"The Talons of Power are _terrorists_ , Lava," Gelid said.

"I'm not! I wouldn't!" He stood gallantly. "I would never hurt another dragon or dragonet. That - that's not what they do - we do!"

What of the other nightwings? "Is Deception and Blackout in this as well?" She asked.

"Deception is. Blackout is considering it," he said. Gelid wasn't even half convinced. "There's no pressure!"

"I didn't know you had a career in expression analysing."

Lava paused, confused. "Expression analysing? I didn't know that's a job. Hey, wait! My point is I'm just telling you," He added. "I'm not asking you to join - because I'd never force anyone. I'm telling you because I trust you."

That changed Gelid's perspective entirely. If she was in the Talons then would she trust Lava enough to tell him? Probably not. Lava had a strong spine, that was given.

 _Or you need an icewing operative. And here I am. I'd rather split my own tail in two than join the Talons,_ Gelid thought _. But...Lava is in it. He's one of the nicest dragons I know of, apart from Sunny._

"Can you keep it a secret, please?" He asked. "I can't do anything to stop you from not doing that but...you're my friend."

Could she? Would she?

Ratting out Lava was a thought even if it wasn't a good one.

On the first talon, telling someone about Lava's allegiance could mean finally finding where the Talons of Power were, the other members and what their goals were. On the second talon, Gelid would always be haunted by the decision. On the third talon, she could potentially stop the next attack. But fourthly...

"I have to go," Gelid concluded. She launched herself from the peak, spread her wings wide and flew as fast as she could.

She flew past Deception and Blackout. They stopped and murmured to each other but didn't stop her. Not that they could anyway. Icewings were notoriously swift flyers.

Time went by quickly as Gelid festered over Lava's confession. Mostly, her mind went back and forth between "tell someone" to "but I made a promise".

 _What should I do?_

"What's wrong with you?" Asked a voice.

Instantly the dark rainforest lit by lightbulb plants fed into her mind and she wondered how long she stood on the high platform above the forest floor with dragons all around.

How long did it take for her to fly back to the rainforest palace courtyard?

The courtyard was a wide platform hung by vines similarly to Vine Square. It was below Queen Blizzard's room and the rooms of the important rainwings. Nestled in the treetops and wide branches above were rainwing houses that slowly grew silent as the night grew darker. A few rainwings were in the courtyard talking amongst themselves along with some nightwings.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, iceberg head," said Mist.

"What?" Gelid blurted to the princess that stood with an irritated expression next to her.

"You look like the wind suddenly smacked you in the face, along with a diseased penguin," Mist said, curiously. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Hmm?" Mist thought of Lava. "Oh, nothing."

Mist didn't seem content with that answer. "I do prefer a direct answer. Maybe I should drag a mind-reading nightwing over here and make them tell me what's wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Gelid insisted. "Get off my tail!" Mist was more than annoying sometimes. It was like she had to know everything at the exact moment of asking.

Mist grumbled heavily. "Fine. Have it your way." She stomped away.

"What is her problem?" Gelid muttered, watching Mist walk halfway across a bridge and then stared out into the dark.

"Can't blame her for what she's become."

Gelid jumped at the sudden voice beside her.

Pale laughed, amused.

"What do you mean by that?" Gelid prompted, wondering if there was a story behind that.

"Imagine yourself as a dragonet sharing only half the blood of those around you," Pale said. "There tends to be a correlation between unrelenting anger and a disturbed youth. Don't you think?"

Gelid immediately caught what he was saying. "But...she's a princess."

"Being a princess doesn't spare anyone from the judgement of those around you, especially from those who think she might be unworthy," Pale said cautiously, nodding to Mist.

Gelid started to think that there was a reason why Mist was so angry all the time, other than she didn't like anyone. "What happened?"

"When we were dragonets, a small group used to pick on Mist," Pale begun to explain. "It wasn't anything extraneous, mostly words and belittling. But one day, she snapped and tore those three icewings into little frightened penguins. One lost an eye, one lost the end of their tail, one has a bad scar down their wing. And about six missing talons between them."

"Yikes," Gelid said.

"Exactly. No one's picked on her since."

No one bullied Gelid when she was a dragonet. Icewings usually never did such a thing. There were so many rules to follow and expectations to fulfil that Gelid could never imagine doing such a thing.

"Aren't you supposed to be protecting the queen?" Gelid asked.

" _Maaayyybe_ ," Pale answered. _What?_ He then barked a laugh. "Your face is hilarious! Not to worry. There are two rainwings outside her door. She's as safe as the three moons right now"

Gelid breathed with relief.

"I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry? Let's go get something to eat," Pale coaxed.

 _I suppose a little something would help me right now_. She agreed.

As Gelid and Pale were about to leave the courtyard, there was a sudden commotion of noise and loud beating wings approaching. A tremble resonated through the trees and the platform rocked to one side and then stabilised. Gelid paused to look.

Queen Firefly landed in the middle of platform, her gaze staring where the noise came from.

A dragon with dark golden scales like a midnight desert dove from the air and threw himself to Queen Firefly's feet, and she froze in surprise. The strange dragon looked like a nightwing but his unusual scales made Gelid think otherwise.

"I think we should check this out," Gelid suggested. Pale nodded.

Dragons begun to clear, slowly spacing themselves from the brooding dragon.

"Your majesty!" cried the dragon, crouching lowly in a way that made himself bow and ask permission to speak from Queen Firefly at the same time. Closely, rivers of tears ran from his eyes.

Mist hurried over, then slowly paced around the dragon warily.

Queen Firefly stepped back, evaluating the sobbing dragon. "Yes, Sunseer?"

"A vision! A PROPHECY! I can't!" Sunseer stumbled, his eyes repeatedly rolled up, as if there was an inkblot in the sky. But the sky was a dark canopy with stars filling in the holes that the leaves left.

"I can't - I can't!" He cried loudly. "Moons! HELP ME!"

Queen Firefly looked at Mist for support but she merely shrugged.

Sunseer straightened himself and looked up to the sky. A trembling voice echoed from the quivering nightwing that wasn't natural.

 _"Beware the dragons made of ice and silver._

 _Beware the claws of fire and night,_

 _descended upon those who survive_

 _the battle of the turning tides._

 _Watch the mountains,_

 _the sea,_

 _the sky,_

 _for the young to wonder,_

 _and those to die._

 _Forget those that are missed,_

 _for those who fall through the mud_

 _have a deadly wish._

 _An aurora,_

 _a cold north,_

 _and the vast sea._

 _Explored and be,_

 _the darkest depths,_

 _one will rise and heal the rest,_

 _as slow and weary and wise is best._

 _For the world to fall to fire and water,_

 _and freeze over._

 _Show your spirit,_

 _your kind,_

 _your courage,_

 _Or all will fall to carnage."_

Sunseer collapsed on the ground, barely supporting himself with his two front talons as his snout touched the floor. He wept softly, his eyes closed with an aching expression.

Moonwatcher approached Sunseer slowly and wrapped her wing around him.

"I tried," Sunseer said to Moon, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I know, I know," Moon hushed.

Mist was the first to speak after a long silence. "What was that?"

"A prophecy," Moon said. "A painful one. I've had visions. None of them were clear enough. Sun had visions as well. We were illustrating our visions when Sun bolted from the room, saying that he had to find you," She said to Queen Firefly.

Queen Firefly nodded. She peered into Moon's curled wing. "Thank you, Sunseer. Rest, please."

Sunseer ran a talon under his eyes, clearing his tears and then nodded and said: "Thank you."

Moon led him away and dragons instantly started to murmur.

"A prophecy. You know what that means, don't you?" Mist asked Queen Firefly.

"Something is about to happen."

"Ack, I don't like prophecies. Not clear enough. Could mean anything," Pale said.

"I second that," Gelid agreed. "But, your majesty, I think you're right."

"We haven't had a prophecy like that in decades...not since - since the battle of Jade Mountain," Queen Firefly said.

"Moon said that prophecy, didn't she?" Mist offered. "And now her son has given one."

"That's Moon's son?" Gelid asked, then watching Moon and Sunseer gradually walk away into the darkness with other dragon eyes also setting on them.

 _Perhaps a hybrid of some sort_ , Gelid thought. His scales did not match Moon's scales whatsoever.

"This could mean anything," Pale advocated.

"But it means something," Mist said.

" _Something_ is happening somewhere. Some kingdom. Some dragon. We need to warn the queens!" Queen Firefly said, then spreading her wings, just about to lift off.

"SKYWING!" Yelled a dragon close by.

"I am a MESSENGER! I have been ordered to send a message to Queen Firefly! No one shall tell me otherwise!" Hissed another dragon.

"Beware the claws of fire and night," Mist said.

Gelid doubted " _the claws of fire and night_ " was the skywing appearing out of nowhere during the night was a part of the prophecy but it wasn't like she could think of anything else.

" _Dragons made of ice and silver_ " that sounded too close to an icewing. But what icewing? And why? Mist's father if he was still alive? Nimbus also came to mind but he seemed mostly harmless, if not, a little dim-witted.

A skywing with dark red scales soared under the canopy, light glimmering off his rosey underscales. He circled and then descended, landing on the platform.

Two rainwings landed beside him in a bouquet of red and orange. They both had spears pointed at the skywing and hissed with long fangs.

"I simply need to direct a message!" said the skywing, growling at the rainwings.

"One more step and you'll never fly again, red dragon!" said the rainwing closest to Gelid.

"What is the meaning of this?" Queen Firefly asked.

The skywing bowed deeply and pulled his wings close. "My name is Kite. I am a messenger sent by Queen Fuchsia delivering a message to Queen Firefly," he said humbly.

Queen Firefly waved her talon at the rainwings and they lowered their spears. "Has something happened to her conveyance mirror? Is that why I can't access her?" She questioned.

"Queen Fuchsia is not answering any attempts of communication. Not after Queen Blizzard sent a message to her," Kite said.

"A message from Queen Blizzard?" Gelid interjected. She remembered Queen Blizzard repeatedly ask the conveyance mirror to connect to the sky kingdom, for days too, until it was determined that the skywings either: were ignoring the attempts or lost their mirror somehow. "What did she say?"

Kite eyed Gelid as if she just slapped food from his talons. "She said that the nightwings and rainwings are responsible for the attack. That they wanted the attack to weaken the other tribes until they can rage war. Her majesty is naturally sceptical but chose to be cautious anyway. She sent me here."

"That's it?" Mist scolded. "You flew all the way here just to tell us that?"

"I don't question my queen," Kite said to Mist.

Queen Firefly pointed to the rainwing with a spear closest to Mist. "Get me my conveyance mirror," she ordered. The rainwing bowed and lifted into the air. She then turned her gaze to Pale and Gelid. "Can one of you wake up Queen Blizzard? I don't think she'd want to miss this."

"I can do that," Pale said, lifting off to the higher platform.

"Was there anything else she wanted to say?" Queen Firefly asked Kite.

Kite shook his head. Apparently that was the end of that.

After a short wait, Queen Blizzard came and landed beside Gelid, with Pale on her other side. Carefully, the rainwing had his claws around the edges of the conveyance mirror, which was shaped like a cloud, unlike the one found in the ice kingdom that was shaped like an oval. He descended steadily, light gleaming in reflection from the mirror and he landed, holding the mirror so that Queen Firefly could use it.

"Mirror, I wish to communicate with the kingdom of the sky," Queen Firefly said. Mist leaned forward, eagerly watching the reflective screen as soft chimes rung.

Kite curled his neck up high, peering down even though the tip of his snout was drawn into the air. He looked proud.

Suddenly, a dragon with deep orange and sunset pink scales appeared in the mirror. She had ruby gems and lapis gems embedded under her eyes and golden chains coiled around her horns.

Gelid shuffled closer to see but not close enough to be seen by the dragon in the mirror.

Queen Fuchsia of the skywings.

"Firefly!" roared the skywing queen.

"That's Queen Firefly, to you," Mist said brashly.

Queen Fuchsia glared at the lavender rainwing with golden yellow eyes. "This does not concern you."

"It does concern me if I share half my blood with a certain tribe," Mist responded.

Queen Firefly lightly pushed Mist with her wing, gesturing for her silence. Mist contested this with a stern look but then remotely agreed.

"It wasn't Queen Blizzard that sent that message. It was a fake made by-" Queen Firefly was interrupted.

"Where's Sanguine? Where's my king?" Queen Fuchsia asked.

"Why should we know he is?" Queen Firefly asked.

"HE'S MISSING! I know someone took him! It was you rainwings, wasn't it? Give me back Sanguine or this is WAR!"

Queen Blizzard butted in, almost shoving Mist aside so she could see into the mirror perfectly. "King Sanguine is not here. _If_ he's missing, the rainforest and the ice kingdom doesn't know where he is."

"LIARS!" Queen Fuchisa roared. "He's somewhere. Someone has him. AND IT'S YOU! I'M RIGHT AREN'T I! YOU RAINWINGS AND NIGHTWINGS ARE KIDNAPPING DRAGONS! YOU HAVE MY HUSBAND! THIS IS WAR, RAINWINGS! WAR!"

Queen Fuchisa's shape disappeared. Reflections of Queen's Firefly and Blizzard fed back to them.

"Fuchsia! FUCHSIA!" Queen Firefly's voice boomed. "Take this back," She ordered the almost petrified rainwing that held up the mirror. "Now!"

The rainwing bounded off, carefully taking to the air with the mirror in his talons.

"That dragon was no right to be queen! No tribe deserves such an unfitting and single-minded dragon like that glamorously lazing on the throne and demanding everything!" Mist said.

"You're talking about Queen Fuchisa! How dare you!" Kite growled Gelid forgot he was there.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it!" Mist barked at him.

Kite opened his mouth but lacked any voice or reason.

This was war. Queen Fuchsia was going to rage war on the rainforest because she couldn't listen to reason. Would the icewings get involved too? Would Queen Blizzard join in to secure their alliance with the rainwings and nightwings?

Would the continent be thrusted into another big inter-tribal war?

Who kidnapped King Sanguine? The Talons of Power? They sent the message impersonating as Queen Blizzard to the skywings. They started this. All of it.

Or did Mist start it? She attacked the celebrations way back and the whole thing was blamed on the Talons of Power, causing them to retaliate using the mirror. Mist caused this. This would've never happened if it wasn't for her.

But Mist couldn't stop a war. None of the queens could. The only way out would be to rally all the soldiers to prepare for war and fight, and see what tribe would win.

No, there was another option. Gelid thought of it.

She could stop the war. No one else. Just her.

Gelid ran to side of the platform, spread her wings and lifted off.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Pale shouted.

T _o save the rainforest. To save all of us. I'm sorry, Pale. I can't tell you how I'm going to do that. I can't tell anyone. But I know what I need to do._

 _I need Lava. He's in the Talons of Power. He's going to send a message for me to the Talons._

 _They started this and now they're going to stop it. One way or another. And if he doesn't then...I'll think of something._

 _Forgive me, Queen Blizzard. I'm abandoning you for this moment._

 _You'll see. I'm going to save you all._

* * *

" _Beware the claws of fire and night_ " echoed through her mind. Could that be Lava? He was a nightwing hybrid and his name promiscuously as similar to fire with "Lava" in his name. Was he dangerous?

The real question was, would Gelid do something about that if he was?

"Lava! LAVA!"

The dark mudwing threw his wings over his head, peering under the edges of his wings. From the food store, the nightwing baker watched questioningly, carrying leaf bags towards the front counter.

"Gelid? I thought you were leaving," Lava said. He dropped his wings. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to speak with you. It's urgent!" Gelid said to him.

"Right now? But-"

"Yes! Right now!"

Gelid looked around. It was night-time so nightwings were awake and occupying small spaces of the centre. There was one small area where there weren't any dragons. Hopefully no one would hear what Gelid had to say.

Though, she did spot Swan in front of the blacksmiths' building beside this food store. He didn't notice her, thankfully. But there was some way he tipped his head that made Gelid think he was eavesdropping. Surely not, right?

She nodded towards the secluded area and Lava hesitantly followed. Dragons were far enough away and they wouldn't hear them, as long as they stayed quiet.

"I'm in trouble? Aren't I? Shucks, I knew I shouldn't have," Lava said. He drooped precariously.

"No, actually, I'm here because I need you to do something for me," She added in a whisper.

"Oh," Lava said, surprised.

"I need you to send a message to the Talons of Power."

"Me? I can't do that! I can't - they wouldn't listen to me," Lava conjectured.

"You have to! Lava, the rainforest is in danger. Queen Fuchsia has declared war on the rainforest. The only way to stop it is for the Talons to relay a message saying that it was them. Please, Lava! The rainforest is your home."

"I don't - I mean, I care but I don't if I - if I can, um..." He looked away, his face twisting into worry and an internal battle in his mind.

"Please, Lava," Gelid pleaded. _If only Queen Blizzard saw me right now. She'd think I'm weak. But this is what I need to do. This is what I must do._

Gelid waited patiently for Lava to make up his mind.

Then he did. "OK," he said calmly. "OK. There's a, um...there's a hideout in the rainforest. I can go there, but - um, can you come too?"

"Of course," She dragged him into this (or did he drag himself into this? Lava was apart of the Talons of Power after all, the main reason why everything is happening), so she was going too.

Lava seemed minutely delighted. "It's in a very dark part of the rainforest. Near the mud kingdom border and closer to the mangroves. But it's really far away. I don't know how fast we can get there."

"We can fly, remember?"

"Yes, but then, I think, it gets really dark halfway there, so we might have to walk for some part of it."

"I can deal with that," Gelid said.

Lava and Gelid begun the journey. They flew above the wall of the nightwing village and into the dark and dangerous trees.

It was difficult navigating. Icewings weren't known for seeing well at night. The ice palace basically glowed every moment of the day so there was no need for being able to see in the dark.

Thankfully Lava knew the way and how to fly between the trees so she let him fly ahead to make the path clearer for her. She wondered if nightwings inherently had better night vision or if being awake during the night nurtured the trait.

Eventually, after about two or three hours of flying, Lava descended to the forest floor and Gelid followed.

"See the trees?" Lava said. Gelid couldn't, not really. "They have really short branches and trunks this far away. And there's more of them, so walking is easier than flying into a field of tree spikes."

So they carried on foot.

Lava found a stream and followed alongside it.

It was quieter now. There was the occasional clicking insect or call of some night-time bird, but otherwise, all Gelid heard was her and Lava's footsteps.

It was painfully quiet, leading Gelid to believe that Lava wasn't exactly happy with how this day was going so far. But she had to ask a question.

Her night vision was better, able to pick up some shapes nearby, like the trees and some short bushes, instance. She walked up to Lava's side, with the stream on the other.

"Why did you join the Talons of Power?" Gelid asked.

Lava looked at her but it was difficult making out his expression. She guessed that he was surprised or perhaps a bit irritated.

"I'm just wondering," Gelid said. "I mean, I'm guessing you have a good reason, right?"

Lava thought about it for a short while. "I guess. Um, well you know that I'm half mudwing right?" Gelid nodded, hoping that he saw that. "I was born in the mud kingdom, to a nightwing mother and a mudwing father. That's why I was born alone. I was born in red egg but none of the moons were full so I wasn't given any nightwing powers. But neither did Deception or Blackout so I was OK with that."

Weren't red mudwing eggs rare or something? She remembered something about that but didn't say anything.

"I think I was barely one year old when...when Queen Ibis found out. She didn't like it - hybrids, so she sent an execution order against my parents. My parents found out and tried to flee, but my father died helping my mother escape. She came here because Queen Glory granted her immunity and me as well," he explained.

"But what does that have to do with joining the Talons?" She asked.

Lava stopped by the stream, dipping his talon in. "The Talons of Power don't want Queen Ibis as queen of the mudwings anymore so they're planning to assassinate her. I joined because they said numbers would help take her down faster. I don't know how but I know it will. That's why I joined," He said to her.

Instantly. Gelid understood. She'd never join the Talons but she had to admit that Lava had good reasons.

"You don't think the Talons of Power are responsible for the attack in the rainforest, are you?" Lava asked. "I know the Talons didn't do it. They'd never do such a thing."

"Queen Blizzard and Queen Firefly said that it was." Gelid said. She knew exactly who was behind it but chose not to say.

"But they could be wrong, right?" Lava said.

Gelid didn't answer.

The duo fell back into silence and resumed the walk to the hideout.

Something was making Gelid's scales itch and it wasn't bugs or the revering silence. Something did not feel right. Something was off. But she couldn't turn back now, not when she was so close.

She was going to save the rainforest and save countless lives from a war. This was going to work. She knew it would.

There was an ominous clearing ahead where the stream bridged around. A breathing room free from the thin pillars of trees.

At the centre of the clearing was a large round trunk of a tree. The trunk was short with tiny branches and leaves growing from the top. The wood itself didn't have bark but was smooth.

The tree was hollow. Gelid peered inside. There were tiny plants growing inside the cavity of the tree and small vines that grew upwards.

"So what now?" Gelid asked, turning to Lava who spaced himself.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking a step back.

"Sorry for what?" Then her scales stood up. Something was about to happen and Gelid couldn't tell if it was good or bad. An ambush perhaps? Did Lava formulate this?

"What have you done?" Gelid asked, stepping out of the hollow. "This was fake, wasn't it?"

Lava whimpered, unsure of what to do next.

"Did you lure me out here? Lava?" He didn't answer. "LAVA! Did you purposefully lure me out here?"

He opened his mouth, and then five dark shapes fell from the air and landed around Gelid, hissing. They were nightwings, for sure.

Lava turned and ran.

"Lava!" Gelid shouted.

The nightwings approached slowly. They were going to corner her. One thing was for certain, Gelid wasn't going to be cornered.

She spread her wings and lifted up, the only way out of this. A nightwing barrelled into her, knocking her from the air. The dark dragon landed on top of her and hissed with a gaping mouth. Gelid pushed the dragon off and rolled, boosting herself up.

Two nightwings ran towards her. One leaped into the air, over her. The other tackled her and they crashed on the ground, again. Talons pushed down on her wings.

Gelid stuck her talons out and waved frantically, feeling her claws scratch against scales, and the dragon yelped. She rolled over to the dragon pushing on her wings, freeing one of her wings and chomped on their leg, making them let go.

The dragon screamed and pushed on her snout, freeing themself. She tasted the blood in her mouth. Yuck.

Gelid immediately hoisted herself back up, meeting an open jaw with an orange glow. Fire. Gelid jumped, hearing the singe of fire as heat touched the plants.

Her tail erupted into stinging pain. The fire got the end of her tail.

They weren't letting her go without a fight. She had to get them all destabilised if she had any chance of getting out.

Gelid launched herself at the nightwing that breathed fire and swiped across their neck but she missed. The nightwing leaned back and then attacked, flinging their talons upwards and hitting Gelid's jaw.

She felt a long gash up her neck.

A dragon jumped on her back and pulled on her shoulders, their weight making Gelid tumble over. The dragon landed on her wings as they fell. A talon squashed her snout into the ground and covered her eyes. She couldn't see.

She felt a claw run along the side of her body and she screamed. Weight pushed down on her legs and tail.

 _This is it. I'm going to die here and no one will ever know what happened to me._

There were several painful blows to her body but Gelid couldn't move. She anticipated one more to finish the job but there was nothing.

Was she dead already?

Then there was a scream.

Her eyes were uncovered, staring at blurry dark figure. A dragon.

The dragon she looked at stumbled back and shouted.

There was more shouting from the other dragons. Gelid felt herself free but her body wouldn't move.

A white shape flew into her line of sight and then disappeared. Gelid couldn't turn her head to see. Too painful, even as she tried.

There was a shout and then a thud after something whisked through the air. Another shout and then another thud.

 _Pale?_ Gelid thought. "Pale?" She managed to say, though only weakly. She wondered if Pale heard her.

Then there was silence.

Pale walked up to her and then Gelid realised that it wasn't Pale.

It was an entirely different dragon that saved her.

The dragon had a narrow handsome face with light coloured eyes but had white scales.

 _You're not Pale. Who are you?_ Gelid tried to speak but couldn't.

A sharp pain jolted from her neck and everything fell black.


	9. Chapter 8

A strong aroma wafted into her nose and Gelid woke up, sniffing the air with half her snout laying down, wondering where that scent came from. It was a flowery smell, bitter and strong, too strong, and she stopped herself from sneezing.

Something didn't feel right.

There was something soft and smooth under her, almost like grass except it wasn't grimy or dirty or wet and it wasn't like animal fur either. It was softer than that. It felt like she was laying on top of one, giant, flat leaf.

There was something similar underneath her head too, like a bag stuffed with feathers. Soft and comfortable.

Then she realised, why did she wake up here?

Last thing she remembered was being in the rainforest dark at night, on the rainforest floor. And now it was light. Not sunny light but it was day and there was something above her that stopped most the light from coming in.

She didn't remember this at all and usually she had a good memory of places she'd been to.

There was a sound that came from somewhere beyond her tail, somewhere she couldn't see. A sound of something rolling or moving over a wooden surface, like the way her tail would when walking over Vine Square.

She twisted to see what made that sound, only for piercing pain to shoot up her neck and force her head to lay back down. Suddenly her whole body ached and her talons awoke and twitched.

"Oh good, you're awake," said a voice. The voice was familiar. Not one she heard often but one she felt like she wanted to know. But whose? Whose voice was that?

 _Oh,_ Gelid realised. _It's Swan_. But was Swan doing? Why was he there? Or better yet, why was Gelid there? Where was there to begin with?

She heard Swan walking over calmly. He stopped in front of her, ducking down to meet her eyes. He had creamy-blue eyes, slightly more vibrant than the bright sky. And he still wore a golden helmet between his horns, though, closely Gelid was able to make out black lines around the edges. What were those about?

"How are you feeling?" Swan asked softly. She noticed his scales weren't completely white but were a mix of extremely pale blue and purple, especially down his wings and snout. "You were in a bit of pain before. I'm not sure how fast icewings heal," he said, watching her attentively.

"We heal just as fast as the others, I think. I feel...drowsy?" Gelid was unsure.

"That would be from the tranquilliser,"

That sounded like a horrible weapon. "Tranquilliser?"

"A rainwing dart. Coated from the toxin of a dart frog. I had to administer one to you before dragging you here," he said.

So not a weapon of mass destruction but it didn't help that she didn't know where she was. "Here?" What in Pyrrhia was going on?

"My quiet abode. Near the coast of the rainforest. The quietest part of the kingdom."

That didn't explain where she was exactly but recounting the journey from last night, she guessed that she wasn't too far from where the nightwings attacked her. How long would it take to fly back to the palace where - Queen Blizzard! Was her queen alright? What happened after she left?

"Queen Blizzard - Pale - do they know about-" Gelid wanted to get up, ignoring the searing pain that rippled over her.

Swan gently pushed down on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I've notified Queen Firefly what happened. Diamondclaws and Deathbringer is overseeing the nightwings that attacked you. Her majesty knows where you are and knows that I'm here too. I can tell them to send you escorts and to get better treatment. They won't be here until late, so please rest."

"Nightwings...right," She thought of Lava. He bolted when the nightwings attacked and left her. "Did you see a dark mudwing there?"

"A mudwing?" Swan's brow rose, confused. "Like the one - no, I can't recall seeing a mudwing there. Did the mudwing attack you too?"

"He didn't but..." Gelid was unsure how much she wanted to admit. But Lava betrayed her first. She never told anyone his secret, yet he wanted her killed. "He's the one that orchestrated the attack. I - I thought he was my friend."

"That'll happen," he said sympathetically. He exhaled deeply, his head tilting in a way that seemed like he lost his gaze and then found it again. "You need to rest. You had quite a few injuries and I did what I could to help you. Rest is the best thing right now."

"You're a doctor?" Gelid asked.

"I was, some time ago," his gaze went away again. He shook his head. "Anyway. You have a long cut down your neck. Try not to move too much. The end of your tail is singed-"he pointed but Gelid couldn't see"-you have at least one broken rib, and a lot of heavy bruising on your legs, under your wings and here."

Swan gently put his talon on her neck and Gelid jerked back, her body unaccustomed to the touch.

"I'm sorry. Did - did that hurt?" Swan asked.

"No, just..." Gelid wasn't sure why she did that. It didn't hurt. It was just a light touch.

Swan looked closely at her. There was something in his eyes that she never saw before. "Rest. You need it." He put a talon on hers and gently squeezed without moving her leg. "Little opal." He then let go, his wing softly brushing over her as he turned and exited out the doorway.

Gelid felt a small flutter in her stomach and she felt light, like a breeze in the wind over a shroud of trees. Or perhaps like a snowflake falling gracefully.

But she was sleepy. So she put her head on the weird bag, closed her eyes and welcomed the soft blanket of darkness over her.

Gelid awoke some time later. She felt better. The cloak of sleepiness disappeared from around her head and she even lifted her neck, though very slowly, offsetting the short bursts of pain into aches. She forced herself to sit up, feeling movement in her body again from the hours of staying still.

She was sitting on some kind of soft and bouncy material wrapped and stitched in faded green cloth. The base of it was a wooden trunk as thick as the length of her leg. It was a bed. Swan's bed perhaps? Why would Swan have a soft bed?

Gelid had to admit that although the bed was strange, she actually quite liked it. Maybe these were the reason why Swan's scales were so soft and smooth, instead of hard and spiky like hers.

Where was Swan?

Gelid looked around. She was in a closed room made of wooden planks. Facing the bed in front of Gelid was a single chest backed to the wall that looked big enough to hold a bunch of random and small things. Beside the trunk was a desk in front of a mirror.

There were small bottles stacked in a corner of the desk and scrubbing brushes piled in a small cup.

The room was more like a hut now that Gelid thought of it. There was one exit that extended out to a balcony bathed in sunlight. It seemed more like a temporary home rather than one to live in. Did Swan like the peace and quiet?

The flowery aroma was gone, instead, huffs of salt and leaves filled her nose. Was that what a beach smelt like? The ice kingdom didn't have beaches, only glaciers and icebergs along the coast. Yet, Gelid expected a beach to smell sandy, like the desert.

As she scanned the room out of curiosity, there was a section of paper ripped from a scroll in a box frame. It was in a high corner facing the rear of the bed. Sunlight gleamed across the paper and Gelid had to tilt to see it properly.

At the top of the paper was the word "Winter" with a line across connecting it to a word "Elegant". Was that a plant perhaps?

Another line fell between the words, then spreading to three more words below: "Shimmer", "Crystal" and "Python." The word "Toucan" connected to "Shimmer" and a line descended between the two. At the bottom of the line was Swan.

Was that a family tree? Icewings didn't have family trees made visually but Gelid did hear of some dragon families having them. If it was a family tree then it had to be Swan's, and all the words had to be dragon names.

Wasn't Winter an icewing name? The rest sounded like rainwing names but that one didn't.

It wasn't Gelid's business to know about families but it definitely intrigued her.

Swan stepped into the room with a basket in his mouth and he paused a step from the doorway, staring at Gelid with a raised brow. He dropped the basket into his talon and then sat it on the floor next to a tall brazier with a bundle of light bulbs tied together by a rope.

There were orange and green fruit in the basket.

"You should be resting," Swan said. He picked two fruits from the basket and then sat by the bed. His tail curled by his foot and he then placed a fruit in the coil, looking at the other fruit closely.

"Enough rest for me." Gelid responded, watching Swan delicately cut lines into the skin of the fruit with a single claw, exposing the orange flesh underneath. The skin piled on the ground, creating an almost unnoticeable stain on the wood.

"Hmph," He breathed slowly. "Well then you must be hungry."

Her stomach rumbled as soon as he finished his sentence. Gelid was hungrier than she realised. She held her stomach, hoping it would stop.

She hoped the fruit wasn't for her. Fruit didn't look right. Fruit grew on trees just asking for someone to pick it without any trouble. It wasn't worth it. A good meal was one worth finding and catching, like a seal or a polar bear amongst the ice fields. Now that was a meal Gelid wanted.

"Do you have any meat?" Gelid asked.

Swan shook his head. "No meat. Good luck finding something worthwhile in the rainforest. You might find a tiger in the mangroves somewhere if you went looking hard enough but this is better." He held the orange fleshed fruit to her.

"No thanks. I don't think-" Gelid was interrupted.

"Go on," he insisted gently. "This will be much better for you."

"I don't like it," She hoped she didn't sound whiny.

"Have you tried it?"

"Well, no," That was a good point. Swan seemed to read her thoughts and he lifted the fruit higher as an offer, a gold-metal sheath covered the bottom half of his leg. Gelid let him drop the fruit into her talons and she sniffed it. It smelt sweet, not as sweet as that food store in the nightwing village but like a raw sweetness.

"Try not to bite into it straight away. It was a hard seed in the middle that dragon teeth can't crush," Swan explained. "I'll let you eat in peace." He turned and left, making sure he picked up the other fruit.

Now Gelid was sure she didn't want it. It felt wrong to give it back so she bit the edges carefully. She ate what she could, leaving an orange oval shape that was the seed and licking the juice off her talons. She had to admit to herself that she liked it. Gosh, did the rainforest always have fruit like this laying around?

Gelid didn't know what to do with the seed so she put it on top of the pile of discarded fruit skin, and she stepped down. Two of her ribs stuck out unnaturally and then clicked back into place as she breathed. So maybe two of her ribs might've been broken.

She walked carefully to the doorway, hoping her ribs wouldn't spring out of place again. Swan was hunched over the railing of the balcony, his head resting on his two front legs and his back turned to her.

It had to be almost midday by the position of the sun.

The same fruit Gelid ate sat untouched by Swan's curled tail. Gelid eased out into the balcony and tilted slightly, evaluating Swan's expression. He looked...sad or perhaps he was thinking of something bad. Or maybe he was daydreaming because his scales weren't changing at all.

Gelid approached next to him but then her talon fumbled, hitting the back of her other talon and started to fall forward. Something strong and warm wrapped around her and she was pulled towards Swan. Her head knocked into his neck but not enough to knock the both of them over.

It was warm being encased in his wing, not warm like the humidity of the rainforest but something else.

Swan shuffled over, his wing loosening from her. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"No - don't worry. Thank you," she added. What she meant to say was "Thank you, please do that again" but that was an awkward thing to say so she kept her snout closed.

She never meant to be this close to Swan and it was difficult _not_ to stare at him. He looked older than she realised, not quite twenty years of age but close, and he was bigger than her. His scales looked more golden, like sand, in the sunlight.

The balcony was perched and held up by two massive branches from a nearby tree. They were on the edge of the rainforest, overlooking a shallower forest with brighter leaves. There were spots where Gelid saw pools of grey-blue water and root tendrils that anchored deep into them. Was this a mangrove?

A glint caught her eye and Gelid was reminded of the gold metal plating over his leg. Bright leaf green cracks in his scales came from under the metal. She wondered about those but it was an odd topic to bring up.

"So I have to ask," Gelid said, meeting Swan's eyes. "How did you save me? I'm thankful, really, but," _I never saw you coming._

"Back at the nightwing village," he nodded back. "I needed some metal casted to make more of these-" he gestured to the golden sheath over his leg-"because my previous ones had holes in them after the attack on the celebrations. I was waiting outside when I heard your friend talking about a dark place in the rainforest. I didn't want to think much of it because..." he looked away, his gaze catching something off into the distance and he closed his eyes.

Gelid followed his sight into the mangroves but found nothing of interest. "Because what?"

He opened his eyes. "But I did think of it. So I waited for the blacksmith to finish and then I went to the rainwing healers to get a small batch of tranquiliser darts, just in case. The healers didn't ask why but I was friends with them so I they probably didn't think much of it. I flew to that dark spot and there I found you pinned under five nightwings, attacking you. I couldn't leave you there," he breathed heavily.

Gelid wasn't sure what to say other than: "Thank you."

Then he smiled. "I feel better now, saving you, instead of knowing that...that another dragon fell to that wretched place."

"Why? What happened there?"

He thought about it. His wing tightened and plunked to the wooden floor, forming a cave around Gelid. "Several years ago, I went flying at nighttime, I don't know why. I just did. I was flying for about an hour when I saw a nightwing by a large trunk of a tree. A short tree. She looked very disconcerted about something but I didn't ask. I left her and flew back here. Then in the morning I flew back over there and you know what I found?" He asked her.

Gelid shook her head. "That nightwing dead, inside the hollow of that tree. I contacted Queen Glory as soon as I could. That nightwing's name was Fatespeaker and she was a friend of the queens', apparently. So that place was called Fate's Hollow in memory. And my memory too, knowing that I could've stopped what happened to her," Swan said.

"It's not your fault. How could you have known?" Right now, Gelid wanted to throw her wings over Swan but she was sure her wings wouldn't reach.

"I had a bad feeling at the time but I still didn't do anything," Swan said.

"You did something now, didn't you? You saved me."

He looked down at her with that "You're absolutely right" face and then nodded. "Now I'm going to ask you a question. Why did those dragons attack you?"

How much did Gelid want to admit? It was Swan and so far he was trustworthy. "My friend, he's in the Talons of Power. I only found out that day when he told me."

"He told you?" Swan asked. "Sounds like he really trusted you."

"That's what I thought." Gelid explained what happened. She explained that a skywing messenger arrived in the rainforest, then Queen Firefly vouched for Queen Fuchsia, ending with a war of words. She explained the mirror incident which Swan knew very little about. Then about King Sanguine's disappearance and how Queen Fuchsia blamed it on the rainwings and nightwings.

"And that's why I came to Lava for help. I thought he could send a message to the Talons to stop the war on the rainforest," Gelid explained, then taking a deep breath. She felt like she left something out.

"Ah, I see," Swan said. "Brave little opal."

Suddenly, her cheek bones started aching and she didn't know why. Then, something tapped on her mind and now that she was a bit more comfortable. She had to ask a question.

"I don't mean to pry too much, but why do you wear those?" Gelid pointed at the gold on his leg and then nodded at the helmet between his horns.

His expression turned from an easy smile to an expression of indecisiveness and pain. "Um, well, hm," he contemplated a thought. He sighed. "If someone should know, I guess - I guess it should be you," he said to her.

 _Know what?_

Swan leaned back and then curled his tail around his feet, the warmth of his wing left Gelid. He reached for the helmet first, carefully digging the tips of his claws under the edges of the helmet and then lifted slowly. Underneath were completely charred black scales, twisted and melted in swirls and uneasy lines. Fire burnt those scales, like what happened to Squall.

He placed the helmet on the ground in front of him and then looked down at his leg with the sheath, without once looking at Gelid. He outstretched a talon over the sheath and then pulled it off. Unlike the burn on his head, this one was pink and grey, with green along the edges. There was a long and deep gash where his scales were pink. That was a wound she'd never seen before.

"Whoa," Gelid blurted. He set his talons down and she wanted to touch it, which he allowed. She ran the underside of her talon over the pink and grey scales, feeling the smooth and jagged lines.

"It looks disgusting," Swan said.

Gelid had to agree. "It does. You don't," She said to him. "So how did you get these?"

His gaze lifted to the sky. "Well, I think it was a decade ago, I was in the town of Riverwatch."

"Riverwatch?"

"It was named Possibility before the Great River War. Queen Fuchsia named it herself when she won the war," he said to her. "Now, I wanted to be a doctor so I was the apprentice of a rainwing..."

* * *

 _More than a decade ago..._

Swan liked the sunset here. It wasn't like the rainforest where the sky was a little green and the only way to the see it was through the small holes in the trees or having to venture far beyond the safety of the leaves and vines. Not here, all he had to do was step out of the clinic and look up.

Though, no matter what, he still missed the rainforest. He missed the chattering of birds and bugs instead of noisy dragons. And he knew all the dragons there. Here, there were infinitely more and from all the different tribes too.

But it wasn't so bad in the town of Riverwatch. Everyday there was a new dragon to meet, different injuries to see and new techniques to learn.

The only reason he was there was because his teacher was sent to Riverwatch by Queen Glory because the town needed more doctors. Since he was still learning the art, he had to come too. Though, his teacher always said he needed more adventure in his life.

"Nice sunset, right?" Vivid asked, sitting beside him. Vivid was the best doctor in the rainforest and the best that Queen Glory had. She was also a good friend of the family so of course she was happy to teach Swan.

"It is. It's clearer here. You can really see the orange and red meeting the dark blue sky," Swan replied.

Vivid nudged him. "I asked a simple question not an entire scroll," she said with a smile.

Swan laughed. Vivid was always that kind of dragon that smiled a lot and was the epitome of kindness. She was basically like a mother to him.

There was a knock on wood not far away. Both Vivid and Swan twisted to look. A mudwing with light grey and brown scales poked his head between the creaking door and then emerged through slowly. He stopped a step from a tail-long counter that separated the entrance from the rest of the clinic. There was a black strap around his shoulder with a sigil of a red dragon with a gaping mouth, two legs and five tails. The guard sigil.

Vivid rushed across the garden, shaking herself when she reached the pavement of the clinic lit by fire lanterns and then approached the guard. She started talking to the guard but Swan couldn't hear.

Swan went in shortly after, standing beside a pile of rolled-up mats meant for patients.

"One sandwing, one skywing. Patrons say they were having a lot to drink when they started fighting each other and then passed out. Drunk, most likely," said the mudwing.

"Bring them in," Vivid said. The mudwing ducked out and Vivd started clearing the way, pulling a bundle of fruits to a corner. "Prep two mats and get me two jugs of clean water," she ordered Swan.

Swan obliged. He plucked out two mats and rolled them up to both ends of the clinic so that there was still a walkway between the dragons. He then went outside, picking up two empty ceramic jugs by the ropes tied around the bases. The river was a short distance away and Swan flew, sinking the jugs in the water as he flew over and then headed back to the clinic.

Vivid was standing on the grass of the garden, by the edges of the pavement. Two mudwings and a skywing guard hauled the dragons in one at a time, starting with an orange skywing with red wings, and then a large sandwing with golden-sandy scales and even more vibrant wings. The guards laid them out on the mats, with the skywing laying closest to the counter.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Asked a mudwing guard.

"Keep a guard close in case?" Swan muttered to Vivid.

Vivid nodded. "Check the bar in case there are any other incidences and can one of you stay outside the clinic? These dragons might wake up again and I don't want then causing havoc."

The guards nodded. The skywing started talking to the mudwings as they exited the clinic. Swan hoped there weren't any more drunk dragons.

He followed Vivid into the clinic once again and stopped by the sandwing first. The sandwing had an odd scar across his snout but one that seemed like it had been there for a while. Other than that, he only had a few cuts to his body.

The sandwing murmured something, moving his snout slowly left to right and his eyes kept wanting to open and also sleep.

The skywing wasn't much different, other than he wasn't murmuring. It was a wonder the sandwing hadn't yet jabbed the end of his tail against the skywing. Maybe they were both too drunk.

"Hovenia?" Swan asked Vivid.

"Yes, that might be a good idea," Vivid said. "I'll get some sleeping darts to keep them asleep."

The sleeping darts were locked in a shed next to the clinic so that they were out of the claws of wondering patients, especially dragonets.

 _And drunk fighting dragons,_ Swan thought. _I suppose I should get used to it. Scorpion Venom is getting more popular, especially with veterans after the war. I'm surprised it hasn't been outlawed yet, given the recent situations._

Vivid grabbed a key from under the counter and left to clamber sleeping darts from the outdoor shed, leaving Swan in the clinic.

Swan placed the jugs in a corner between a wall and the counter, quickly realising how close the jugs were to the tail of the skywing, so then he put them on the countertop.

There was a pantry opposite the entrance into the clinic which usually gave the impression that the doctors were well supplied and knew what they were doing. Which was, of course, true.

Swan shuffled into the pantry, looking at the shelves of jars for a particular one with brown wrinkly fruit. He found it and tucked it under his wing, grabbing a pestle and mortar as well, and placed them all on the countertop.

He looked at the dragons when one started wheezing. The sandwing's stomach lifted up and down with heavy breaths. Suddenly, his black eyes opened fully and the sandwing rolled to his stomach, staring at the skywing with disdain. The skywing woke up then as well, instantly clambering to his feet and hissing.

The sandwing rose, spreading his wings to look bigger and then curling his tail defensively so that it was between him and the skywing. To be fair, the dragon was already quite large and took up half the clinic only standing. "You DARE attack me? I am Queen Thorn's royal advisor!"

"Royal my tail, sand-snorter!" Growled the skywing. "Go suck a cactus!"

 _Uh oh._

The sandwing roared and lunged at the skywing, peeling the mats away. He pushed on the skywing, pinning him and attempted to close his snout. The skywing headbutted the yellow dragon and pushed him away, making him stumble back to the other wall.

"Stop fighting!" Swan yelled. They didn't hear him. They didn't even acknowledge him. "GUARD!" He squished himself into the pantry, letting the mudwing guard rush in with a spear, assess the two dragons and then interfere.

"Stop! By the order of Queen Fuchsia!" Commanded the guard.

Vivid hurried in after the mudwing and then stared at Swan, mouthing to him: "What's going on?"

Swan tapped his head and then whirled his talon, gesturing to her that the dragons had gone crazy.

The sandwing tackled the mudwing guard and his spear rolled towards the counter.

"You dare mention her name!" yelled the sandwing at the mudwing. "I lost my daughter because of her!"

The skywing swiped at him and then batted him with a wing, making the sandwing get off the guard. "You lost - I lost everyone! My wife was a sandwing and Thorn didn't give two cows about her. GUESS WHAT? I had to fight for Queen Fuchsia. I found my wife's body on the battlefield. ON THE WRONG SIDE!"

"Queen Thorn is a righteous queen! Yours was the one that started the war for the stupid river!" The sandwing opened his mouth, orange glowing and rising, and he shot a breath of flame. The skywing twisted out of the way, letting the fire scar the walls and ceiling black.

"Stop this this instant!" Protested the guard.

"Swan!" Vivid shouted at him. She flicked her tail towards the door, gesturing for them to leave.

Swan stepped out of the pantry but then the mudwing was flung across the counter and landed with a crack between Swan and Vivid. He groaned painfully and then passed out. His wing wasn't in his shoulder anymore.

The spear rolled and tapped Swan's talons. He never used one before. He didn't even know how to fight. But someone had to - maybe it had to be him.

He grabbed the spear and then looked at the rivalling dragons. He didn't have to kill them, living with that wouldn't be easy but maybe subdue them somehow.

"HEY!" Swan hollered at them. The two dragons looked at him and Swan suddenly felt like this was bad idea.

"Stay out of this fancy-scales!" Warned the skywing.

"NO! Either you both get out of here or I'll make you get out!" Swan said.

" _What? You?_ " Barked the sandwing with a laugh.

Now Swan was sure he wanted to throw the spear right into the sandwing's big gallivanting snout.

"Swan, don't! I know what you're thinking," Vivid said. "This won't end well. Let the guards take care - SWAN!"

He already made up his mind. Swan leapt at the sandwing with the spear. Then, as he was in the air, he saw the sandwing's tail in the corner of his eye, inching closer. The sharp tail ran over his leg and pain seared over his scales, like how he imagined fire to feel.

The sandwing knocked Swan out of the way and into a wall where he crumpled down from the pain in his leg. He thought he heard someone say his name but he couldn't hear. The two dragons started attacking each other again and Swan watched with blurred eyes.

The skywing leaned back and opened his mouth as wide as he could with fire rising at the back of his throat. The yellow dragon grabbed his snout but couldn't close it in time, pointing it away. Fire erupted from between the skywing's teeth at the ceiling first, then out to the garden as the sandwing struggled and the skywing flailed.

Then the fire pointed directly in Swan's eyes and he closed them as the glow engulfed his vision. No, it didn't hit his eyes, it went over them and then his neck felt numb.

Everything faded in and out, and Swan fell to black.

He woke up a few days later with a scar down his leg and black scales on his head. He didn't like them, not one bit. They were a painful reminder for Swan and what could happen if he rushed into situations.

Dragons stared at him, constantly asking where he got them from or left because of his presence. Then he decided to cover them up. Cover them the pressing eyes of other dragons. It was unknown what happened to that sandwing and skywing. Swan never asked about it or wanted to think about it more often than he already did.

It didn't stop him from learning under Vivid. He studied for another two years before he decided that he wanted to do something else in his life.

* * *

"And that's my tragic story," Swan said.

Gelid stared at the scar down his leg. She was glad that she didn't have any physical reminders on herself of something stark.

"You became a performer?" Gelid asked.

"After, yes. I tried my talon at being a chef but...fire. I don't like fire. Then I tried to be a teacher but I wasn't good at it. I was good at making the little dragonets happy though, so I guess that's why I'm a performer," Swan said to her. "I like making dragons happy. It makes me happy..."

Gelid was glad to know that he knew what he wanted to be. As for Gelid, being a bodyguard proved quite tiresome, especially if she couldn't be around Queen Blizzard all the time. Like now, for instance. She adored Queen Blizzard, don't get her wrong, but maybe this job was meant for some other dragon that didn't get distracted so easily. But she wasn't sure what she'd be if she weren't a bodyguard. A guard perhaps? No, she was in the first circle, so maybe she'd train to be a general or a commander.

Anyway, she'd talk to Queen Blizzard when she got the chance. As for now, she was nursing an ever-extending crush on Swan.

"I guess the war was still fierce back then," Swan said, alerting Gelid that he was still talking. "Maybe it's still fresh now. Queen Fuchsia won the war but dragons were still fighting amongst each other." He donned the metal sheaths back onto his scales, covering up the wounds.

"You mean like normal dragons do?" Gelid suggested. Swan barked a laugh but Gelid didn't mean it to be funny. There was still fighting now. The Talons of Power was an example.

"Indeed," He said. "I still don't know how the battle turned towards the skywings. Queen Thorn has the biggest army in Pyrrhia...except, maybe the seawings have a bigger army. No one ever sees the true extent of the tribe..."

There was something that Swan said that clicked in Gelid's mind. There was something she forgot to mention or something important that she had to think about. _Battle...Turning... The Battle of the Turning Tides._

Gelid rehearsed the line in the prophecy in her mind. _"Beware the dragons of ice and silver. Beware the claws of fire and night, descended upon those who survive the Battle of the Turning Tides."_

She first thought the claws of fire and night was Lava...but surely not. What was the Battle of the Turning Tides? Was that about the Great River War? But that didn't make sense.

"Has there ever been a war or a battle near the sea?" Gelid asked Swan.

He tipped his head, thinking. "A recent one?" Gelid shook her head. "Not that I can think of. Why?" He asked.

"Because a nightwing delivered a prophecy." Gelid repeated what she remembered the first line few lines of the prophecy and the last few lines too. That was as much as she could remember.

Swan regarded her words, his face coiled in anxiety. "Maybe something's about to happen. Maybe there will be a fight somewhere in the future."

Gelid had to agree. Mist said the same thing, which Queen Firefly concurred as well. If something was about to happen, a fight near the sea, then Gelid had to stay alert. Every dragon had to stay alert. This ' _Battle of the Turning Tides_ ' could escalate to another war and Pyrrhia had enough of those.

The continent was still reeling after the Great River War between Queen Thorn and Queen Fuchsia, and disputes still occur.

"You know, Swan, I think you're a very smart and brave dragon," Gelid finally admitted.

His snout curved into an adorable smile tipped at her. "Says the one that followed a dragon to the darkest part of the rainforest and got herself beat up."

"Well, you're the one that rescued me."

He chuckled. Then his tail twined around hers, folding the long spikes against her scales.

Icewings were the only dragons with cold blood but all the other dragons had warm, even hot blood like the sandwings did. Why couldn't she have warm blood? Why couldn't she constantly feel the warmth that came from Swan's scales?

Gelid didn't think of what she did next. She leaned forward and closed her eyes, feeling Swan's head on top of hers. It felt unnatural at first. Icewings never did anything like that but who said she wanted to be with an icewing? Why not another dragon from a different tribe?

She sat like that for a while, as did Swan, until they pulled apart and started chatting about everything else. They talked throughout the flight of the sun across the sky and even when the ball of light floated below the horizon.

Swan hung a vine tied with light bulbs around the balcony, creating a colourful glow that dissolved into the dark depths of the rainforest and the salty trees of the mangroves. Gelid wanted to help but the moment she opened her mouth, her rib clicked out of place and she had to push it back in again. So she stayed out of his way instead.

When he was done he retreated back to her, folding a wing over hers. He offered a single orange light bulb cut from a vine to her and rolled it into her talons. Gelid stared at it intently, wondering whether it was a plant or some invention. She thought at first that it was a glass bulb filled with a weird fluid that glowed but in her talons, it was slightly squishy and nothing felt as if it sloshed around inside it.

"What are these?" She asked Swan.

"A luminescent fire berry," He said simply, like Gelid knew what 'luminescent' meant. "They grow on a special type of tree. There are three of them. One in the nightwing village, one in Vine Square and one in Queen Firefly's palace."

Gelid didn't remember seeing one in Vine Square. She probably missed it somewhere. "These grow on trees? What kind?"

"I can't recall the name but I know it's a special type of hybrid tree. You should know it. It originally came from your kingdom. What was it? A lightglow...no, a moon bush...hmm, something like that."

"You mean the Moonglobe tree? The Tree of Light?"

"That's the bug!" Swan said. What bug? "The Moonglobe tree. I remember hearing that Queen Glory received a cutting of that tree, grew it here, took another cutting and spliced it with a tree with long branches found in the rainforest. I think it took a decade for them to perfect this little beauty." He pointed at the fire berry in Gelid's palm.

"Rainwings made this?"

"Rainwings and nightwings. Us rainwings knew how all this worked - creating hybrid trees for better use. The nightwings perfected it and with all their scientific nonsense too. Who knew two tribes cooperating so well could make such unique things," Swan said.

Now Gelid was a teensy bit jealous. Why couldn't the icewings make something like this? Sure they had the original Tree of Light but still...it might've been delicately made by the claws of an icewing animus before being enchanted but it would never be as cool as this.

And warm too. Warmth danced around her claws as Gelid playfully passed the berry between her talons.

Air whooshed past them and a beating set of wings circled around them from above. Gelid placed the berry on the wooden floor, feeling all her scales stand up. She looked around, catching that Swan was doing the same.

"Evening shiny moonbeams!" It was Pale.

Pale circled around the balcony, peaking at Gelid and Swan as his wings engulfed the sky in front of them. He circled around once more and then landed with a glowing smile.

"Pale!" Gelid shouted to him.

"Whoa, whoa. You've only been gone for a day. Why is your face like that?" Pale asked.

"Like what?" Gelid asked, confused.

Pale thought for a moment, then looked at Swan. "Nevermind," he shrugged.

Swan brushed her wing. "I think your face is beautiful."

"Thanks, Swan," She brushed back then ran her talon over his.

"Ah, so cute," Pale muttered.

Gelid didn't quite hear what he said. "What?"

"Nothing," He smiled.

Gelid expected more dragons to land beside Pale but she waited for a brief minute and no other dragons came. "Did you fly here by yourself?"

Pale nodded behind her and she twisted to look, only to jump in surprise. Above, on the roof of the hut were two rainwings. The mossy green rainwing laughed and the more teal coloured one snickered with a wide grin, presumably at Gelid's reaction.

"I hope you're ready to go. Everyone has been worried about you. Then Swan said that he found you and before I knew it, I was flying with these two monkey bags over here," Pale said.

The mossy green dragon laughed again. "Says the one that actually flew into a herd of macaque monkeys."

"You two saw them and didn't warn me!" Pale countered.

"Only to see your reaction," remarked the teal rainwing.

"I'm going to stuff a dead penguin under your beds when you aren't looking," Pale said.

"I sleep in a hammock," said both the rainwings in unison, then looked at each other and chortled until Pale started yelling at them, which only made them laugh more.

Swan leaned towards Gelid and whispered. "Might be a good idea to leave before some dragons start losing scales."

"Leave you so early?" Gelid whispered back. "But..."

Swan grabbed her talon and squeezed gently. "I'm sure I'll see you again. Soon, perhaps. Send me letters, OK?"

"OK."

They nuzzled one more time and Gelid said her goodbyes, soon lifting off into the air with Pale and the rainwings.

The silent and dark embrace of the night was quick to remove what Gelid felt, feeling anxious instead. There was still a chance of being attacked again, Gelid felt it in her scales. There wasn't a path through the trees that were distinguishable so the rainwings led the way through the haze.

The trees were thin and the branches were spiky but not enough to stop flying through them. That was when Gelid figured that Lava lied. He needed more time to spring the trap for her so that was why they walked for more than half the journey.

Pale's voice broke the silence. "That's cute. You two," He said, flying next to her.

"What is?' Gelid asked, still thinking about Lava.

"You and Swan."

"Oh. I mean - maybe. It's...it's just a crush," Gelid responded.

Pale barked a laugh and then recovered. "Oh please, everyone has a crush on Swan."

 _Could it be? Could me and Swan be together? He'd never survive in the ice kingdom if we wanted to be...I'd have to come to the forest._

 _That's not bad though. The rainforest is a wonderful place to live in. Even to...no. I can't think of that now._

 _The world is still in danger and it needs saving first._

 _Maybe we can be together after._


	10. Chapter 9

It was dawn when Gelid arrived at the safety of the rainforest palace and courtyard. The flight took longer than expected because her wing cramped up and the small cluster of dragons had to wait in the pitch-black forest for her to recover. Needless to say, she always hated being the slow one but they got there in the end.

Gelid told Pale about everything that happened. About Lava and his acquaintance with the Talons of Power. Then the nightwing attack on her and then waking up in Swan's hut where he helped her. She didn't say anything about Swan's wounds though, that was something he'd tell when he wanted to. Also, Lava was still out there, in the nightwing village or on the run.

The rainwing escorts broke off as soon as they arrived. Gelid guessed they went to sleep in their hammocks. Herself didn't feel like sleeping. She felt as if she accidentally fell asleep while flying until landing at the pavilion. Pale looked the same way.

"I'll go alert the guards of that mudwing," Pale said to her. "Maybe he hasn't gone far."

Gelid nodded. "Thank you, Pale."

Lava deserved it after what he did. She doubted Lava would've even left the rainforest so he'd be easy to find. If he placed enough trust in those nightwings to kill her then he would've had nothing to worry about and no talons pointed at him. But he didn't take Swan into account. Swan was the only reason she was still alive.

The pavilion was in the shape of a semicircle and overlooked the courtyard, opposite to the sleeping rooms for important guests. She spotted the room Queen Blizzard used before but the drapes were open and the room was empty. She wondered where Queen Blizzard would be up at this hour.

Pale called out to a guard closest to the centre of the platform overlooking the courtyard. With dawn breaking, she guessed the nightwings would be cycled out with rainwing guards.

Gelid had to be thankful for Pale. He cared a lot for his fellow icewings and other dragons. His personality was very unusual for an icewing that lived in the palace and she even admitted to herself that she overlooked him at first, not considering that he was one of the highest ranking icewings in the kingdom. He definitely didn't show off like the others. Like Gelid did.

Perhaps that was why Queen Blizzard trusted him so much, because Pale cared.

"You shouldn't be here," that was Mist's distinguishable voice nearby. Gelid almost missed the yelling of the icewing princess. Almost.

Mist's scornful tone wasn't directed at Gelid for once, but at someone else. Maybe Mist knew where Queen Blizzard was. Mist spoke again, notifying Gelid that the princess was below on the platform, under the one she was on. Gelid ducked over the edge, carefully descending down in case her wing cramped again. Just as Gelid suspected, Mist was there.

Two sandwings were bickering with Mist. To her surprise, it was Amber and Torrid but what were they doing in the rainforest?

"I don't _care_ why you're here. You shouldn't be here and that's final," Mist said at the sandwings. Her eyes locked onto Gelid between the two dragons. She swore she saw Mist smile for a second. Or perhaps an opportunity to get out of the conversation she was currently in. "Well, well, well. I take that your adventure was incredibly rewarding," Mist said to her.

Amber and Torrid both twisted to look, meeting Gelid with surprise.

"Oh look! It's the Extinguisher!" Amber said with an arching smile.

"I have a name," Gelid said.

"Oh I know, I know. Extinguisher isn't a name thought, it's a title. Not very many earn that title, you know. I think it's very fitting for you."

Gelid couldn't tell if Amber was joking. Her smile didn't crack at all.

"Can I have that title too?" Torrid asked Amber in a casual tone.

"You're not the one with the fire-extinguishing powers like this dragon here," Amber said, flicking her tail at Gelid.

"ENOUGH!" Mist interjected, raising her chin at the squabbling dragons. "Go back home! Both of you!"

"But _Miiiiissssst_ ," Amber whined loudly. "It's _boooorrrriiiiinnnng_."

Mist exhaled sharply, lowering her head and shaking.

"Yeah," Torrid agreed. "I mean, staying in Thorn's Stronghold is cool and all but it's really boring."

"I don't care," Mist said.

Amber didn't listen. "Hyena is all like 'sit here, eat that, drink that water, go chase scorpions and fling them at each other'," she said, flicking her wrist. There were a few small bumps on her palm.

"That wasn't fun," Torrid said, staring at Amber's palm, as if reminiscing memories.

"Exactly my point!" Amber said. "Then I heard you were in the rainforest and I was like 'hey Torrid. Our favourite princess is in the rainforest. Let's go visit her!' And Torrid was like 'Yeah OK' And here we are!"

Mist sighed loudly in frustration, enough to wake the entire rainforest up.

"You should see Hyena. Not that I really want to," Amber added. "He is acting full-on commandary around Thorn. Sometimes I think he's trying to win her over, like his words are so militarialistic and hypnotic or something."

"Isn't Thorn already married?" Torrid asked her.

"Yeah but for _now_ ," Amber nudged Torrid gently with a wink and then laughed. Torrid shrugged. "Now I'm totally convinced."

Speaking of queens. "Where's Queen Blizzard?" Gelid asked Mist.

"She's gone already," Mist answered, looking relieved some other dragon spoke.

"What?"

"Uh oh," Amber said.

"Without me?" Gelid asked. Mist shrugged, not giving a flying talon. "How am I supposed to protect her if she keeps flying off without me!" That only made Gelid think she definitely wasn't suitable for the job. Now she was starting to think of it as a chore rather than an honour. Protecting and being around Queen Blizzard constantly sounded like the dream for many dragonets, and it was her dream, for a while though. Until now.

Amber leaned towards Torrid. "Sounds like someone is going to get fired," she sang in Torrid's ear.

Mist rolled her eyes. "There's been a commotion back at the ice kingdom. Apparently, the prisons were broken into - or out of, depending on who you hear first," she said to Gelid.

Breaking out of the prison? How would that even be possible? The dungeons were built underground and the only way in was past two thick walls of ice and a batch of guards. All this just made Gelid think of flying back to Swan to avoid all the drama. Least it was comfortable being around Swan and being surrounded by his wings too.

"Anyway, someone sent the message to Blizzard about it and that's why she's gone. I was told to stay here to wait for you and Pale, and not to entertain two certain sandwings," Mist said coldly at Amber and Torrid.

"I didn't know you could do as you're told," Gelid said, matching her cold tone.

Mist snorted, blowing a shot of cold air from her nose. "I don't, not often but at least I stick to it when I choose to. And besides, my aunt is the queen so I can't ignore everything she says, as much as I wish I could. I am a princess."

That was the first acceptance of Mist's responsibilities that Gelid heard. Perhaps there was a snow-padded dragon under all those scales after all.

"There's got to be something we can do around here. Hmm," Amber quickly considered. "Well your queen isn't here so let's go hunting! That ought to be fun!"

"Afraid not, my aunt needs me and these two to retrieve the sandwing and icewing students from Jade Academy."

The two sandwings started muttering to each other.

"From the academy? Why?" Gelid asked.

"Talons of Power, increased threat levels, danger on dragonets, chance that they might be separated from their families if something bad happens...something like that," Mist said.

"But Jade Mountain is the safest place on the continent to be right now. The Dragons of Destiny are there."

"That's what I said but apparently I was out-voted. If I was queen then I'd-" she immediately realised what she said with wide eyes and stopped speaking. Maybe Mist did ultimately want some part of the throne. "So we made a deal with Queen Thorn. Get the sandwing students, deliver them to the Stronghold and we get an extra battalion of guards and their insurance to help us in case...in case something bad goes."

"Bad? Like what?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Mist said haughtily. "How should I know? I can't predict the future."

Where were the nightwing seers? She hoped they'd receive some clear visions soon to help and also clarify Sunseer's prophecy. Gelid still didn't like it, not like she could ever think of a dragon who might. If something was going to happen in the future then knowing some details would help.

"Can we come too?" Amber asked Mist and Gelid. Torrid nodded with the question eagerly.

"Absolutely not. You're going home," Mist said.

" _Plleeeeeeeaaaasssseee_." Amber leaned forward and tipped her head with an innocent smile. Great moons, she sounded exactly like a dragonet despite looking like an adult. No wonder Mist got annoyed by them, Gelid would've too.

"You're going to the Stronghold anyway and we'll stop bothering you for a week after if you let us come," Torrid promised, sweetening the deal.

Mist grumbled. "Fine."

"YAY!" Amber exploded with happiness and clapped her wings against Torrid's, then shaking his shoulders in excitement. "I've always wanted to go."

Torrid pushed Amber away and then shook his wings, resettling himself. "Me too."

"This is going to be so exciting! I've never been to Jade Mountain before. To the Academy! What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Amber spread her wings, ready to fly.

"Just a moment. We're waiting for one other dragon," Mist said.

Pale found them shortly after and the group prompted to leave the rainforest. Mist commanded the pair of sandwings to be silent but as soon the group left the safety of the trees, Amber started to flaunt with excitement all over again.

"I know I keep saying it BUT THIS IS SO EXCITING!" Amber shouted. She sped ahead and then somersaulted in the air. "WOOHOO!" She flew into a wind drift that rebounded around a pair of thin mountain peaks and she spiralled up until her voice caught itself in the wind.

"Oh, good moons," Mist embittered, sighing afterwards. She flew aside, leading the quiet group around the peak rather than straight on like Amber did.

Torrid didn't follow Amber but kept himself stable flying between Mist and Gelid. Amber was so much different than Torrid - personality and scale wise.

"So, you two aren't brother and sister?" Gelid asked Torrid.

"No, at least, I don't think so. I mean, if I were to call her anything then I'd call her sister but...not by blood," Torrid said.

"That explains the scales," Pale said from above.

"Did you need him to tell you that to figure it out?" Mist asked him.

"Only to clarify," Pale retorted.

Mist snorted.

"If you're not related then how'd you find each other?" Gelid asked.

Torrid tipped his head towards the sky in deep thought. "I can't remember, not exactly, but it was some time after the Great River War. Um, I think we were both wondering around in the desert when we kind of...met up. We helped each other. I was a little scrawny so I ended up being chased by an ostrich. Amber chased it away," Torrid smiled. "I found an oasis and we stayed by there for a while. That's where Hyena found us and basically adopted us."

"That's sad," Gelid said. Pale swiped his wing across her back. Whoops, too blunt.

"It was," Torrid said. "But I'm happy anyway."

"Do you ever wonder what happened to your parents?" She asked further.

Torrid stared at her, as if she just swatted his tail and made him spin. "I don't - I mean I don't really think about it. I'm here, I'm alive and I have some dragons caring about me, you know? I don't need to know - I don't have to know. It's not important where I came from, just where I am now."

That was surprising more casual then Gelid anticipated. How could he not be content with not knowing where he came from? Then Gelid thought of her own parents, and now wished she didn't know them either. Maybe Torrid had a good way of thinking. He was happy were his was. He wasn't an icewing with an impressive rank or having a huge impact on the world - just his own world.

"But I am really excited to go to the academy," Torrid said with an unchanging face. "I've always wanted to go when I was a dragonet. I mean - it's fine not going there when I was younger but the opportunity would've been nice."

"I've been there," Gelid said.

"You've been WHERE?" Amber suddenly manifested above them and then dove past Pale. Gelid twisted out of the way of the sandwing bombardment. "Sorry," She said, flying beside Gelid and Torrid.

"I went to the academy," Gelid clarified.

"When? How long? Was it awesome there? I bet it was awesome there," Amber said, then looking at Torrid.

"When I was three," Gelid begun to say.

"Now isn't that adorable," Mist said callously.

"Shhh," Amber hushed. "I want to hear this."

"I had some fun but I didn't stay long. I think about six months," Gelid said.

"SIX MONTHS!" Amber huffed a breath of air like someone just smacked her in the face. "I would've stayed FOREVER! Jade Mountain Academy is the best place in the world."

"I just had more important things to do."

"MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO? What could POSSIBLY be more important than being educated by the Dragons of Destiny and be surrounded by other awesome dragons just as eager to learn."

Gelid shrugged, unsure of how to explain icewing rankings.

"Alright shush, we're almost there," Mist said.

In front of them in the high horizon were the giant fangs of Jade Mountain against a darker grey sky. They flew for the entire day and Gelid didn't notice. There was a plateau leading into the Academy by a large cavity. On the plateau was a large brown shape watching them. Clay

"Did you see that?" asked Torrid.

"I see A MUDWING! That means CLAY," Amber squealed.

"Not him," he said. Gelid saw that Torrid pointed in a direction towards the coast.

"See what?" Gelid asked him.

Torrid observed the horizon to their far side, deducing something. "Hmm, nothing."

The group arrived at the plateau with Clay greeting them.

"Who's hungry?' Clay asked them.

"ME!" Amber replied.

"We're just here to collect the sandwing and icewing students," Mist said.

"Just a little longer, _please?_ " Torrid asked Mist.

Mist rolled her eyes and then grumbled. "Less than an hour."

"Come on, Torrid! Let's go! I want to see EVERYTHING!" Amber rushed into the Academy.

Torrid followed and then stopped next to Clay. "We promise not to break anything," he said to the big mudwing, then ducking in and tailing Amber. Then they were gone.

 _Well that didn't take long,_ Gelid thought. "Don't worry about them," She said to Clay.

"They're just a pair of dragonets. They'll fit right in," Mist affixed.

"Oh, of course," Clay smiled with hint of confusion, looking into the academy.

"Shall I go and alert Queen Thorn of the arrival soon?" Pale asked. He was behind the group and so silent before that Gelid forgot about him. She really had to pay more attention.

Mist regarded him. "That's a good idea. You may go."

Pale chuckled and then threw himself off the edge, flying up and towards the desert stronghold.

Mist started to walk into the academy, and Gelid followed with Clay behind her.

"Most of the students are asleep," Clay said, his voice echoing. "We had a big day today. I can go wake them up. They're all doing a study on animus magic, so we have Anemone here. Anemone said she'll do a spell for them if they stayed up all night last night. So that's why they're all asleep."

"Interesting," Gelid said. She wished she did something like that when she was here all those years ago.

There was a blue and gold dragon at the end of the tunnel, though the dragon looked more orange at first because of the fiery torches that lit the tunnel from above. The blue dragon disappeared into another cave.

Mist walked into another tunnel before the end where the blue dragon was so Gelid couldn't see who it was. Holes carved on the side provided some light into the tunnel, dissolving the orange glow from the fire. Gelid was about to follow into the tunnel as well when Starflight came from the cave where the blue dragon went into.

"Clay?" Starflight asked.

"It's me, Starflight," Clay said.

"Have you seen Sunny? I can't find her," Starflight said. "She has some reports that I need to sort."

"Um, I haven't seen her. Have you tried looking in her office?"

"I've looked everywhere! The office, the pool, the peak..." he listed.

"She'll be around somewhere. Keep looking," Clay said calmly.

Starflight exhaled heavily and then turned around and walked from where he came.

Clay looked at Gelid and then Mist, who was also paused in the tunnel. "Um, student sleeping caves on the next right," he directed.

The next cave was a short distance away but then Mist flinched at a blue dragon that suddenly came out. Tsunami.

"Watch where you're going!" Tsunami said. A smaller rainwing sidled past Tsunami into the wider tunnel and then stared at Mist.

"Watch where _you're_ going," Mist responded boldly.

The two princesses stared at each other until Tsunami eased into the tunnel and allowed Mist to pass. Gelid followed in after Mist. There were eight more entrances from the tunnel and a large hollowed out cave directly at the end of the tunnel. That wasn't there when Gelid attended the Academy.

"Starflight is looking for Sunny. Have you seen her?" Clay asked Tsunami.

"No I haven't seen her. I've been too busy making sure these - uh, fantastic students get to sleep," Tsunami answered, then looking down at the green and blue rainwing that stared out the window. "She's probably just...taking a flight before all the rain sets in..."

The rainwing squeaked, looking at Clay and Tsunami that didn't notice him. He then looked out the window again. "Um, excuse me, Headmis - Headmistress," he said, entranced by the view.

"Yes, yes, what is it now?" Tsunami asked.

"There are - are scary seawings outside. They have spears," said the rainwing, slowly turning green. Fear.

"What?" Tsunami looked at Clay, who immediately thought of something. Tsunami squeezed past Clay, while Clay gathered the terrified green rainwing into the tunnel leading into the sleeping caves.

"What's going on?" Gelid asked Clay as he walked past her.

"I'm not sure," Clay answered, going into the sleeping cave furthest to the end. Well that was useful.

"Did he say seawings? Outside?" Mist asked, looking at Gelid.

"I think so," Gelid said.

"Well then don't just stand there like an octopus. Let's go figure it out!"

Gelid turned into the tunnel with the windows and raced down, hearing Mist's steps behind her. A pale blue and pink seawing stared out the cavity and into the plateau where Tsunami shouted into the distant valleys.

"Tamarin! Stay inside!" yelled the blue and pink seawing. At the end of the tunnel, the blue rainwing head popped out momentarily and then back in. This pale blue and pink dragon was Anemone, Gelid was sure.

"Outside! Quickly now!" Mist ordered, darting past Gelid, into the tunnel and encroached the plateau. Anemone followed and then Gelid.

"I AM THE SEAWING PRINCESS, TSUNAMI! I ORDER ALL OF YOU TO DISPERSE!" Tsunami yelled, stretching her neck up.

Now Gelid saw them. Against the now cloudy sky were blue and green seawings hovering in a circle high around the mountain. Lightning struck somewhere near the rainforest, illuminating the sky and delivering a vicious rumble through the mountains.

"I count more than fifty seawings," Mist said.

What were fifty seawings doing out of the ocean around Jade Mountain? At the Academy of all places?

"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME! ALL OF YOU! GET YOUR TAILS OUT OF HERE!" Tsunami yelled again, but the seawings didn't move. "I AM THE PRINCESS, YOU GULPER-HEADS!"

A green seawing that looked much like Tsunami approached the plateau with an angry look on her face. "Orders of the queen override all others."

It was Queen Auklet.

"Auklet!" Anemone said, as the seawing queen landed gracefully. Two light blue seawings followed Queen Auklet down and hovered beside the edge with sharp spears in their talons.

"That's Queen Auklet to you," Queen Auklet said. "Dear sisters," Emeralds glittered between the scales down her neck and some embedded around her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Auklet?" Tsunami demanded.

"Oh, I thought I'd stop by and visit, check how my older sisters are doing, kidnap a golden sandwing, take all the dragonets with an army of soldiers with me. You know, the usual kind of thing," Queen Auklet said.

"WHAT!" Tsunami boomed. "What did you do with Sunny? Where is she!"

"Safe, safe. Completely safe."

"Give us back, Sunny, THIS INSTANT!"

"Back off, Auklet. This is supposed to be a safe place for dragons," Anemone said, taking a step forward.

"Oh, my dear animus sister," Queen Auklet said, making an innocent face at Anemone. "How's that rainwing of yours? Tamarin, right? Still keeping what's left of your soul safe?"

"At least I have a soul," Anemone countered.

"Oh, ow." Queen Auklet put a talon to her heart, looking hurt, then tilted the side of her snout towards them. "What did I just hear? Did you just threaten me? Did you just threaten your queen?"

"We're older than you, Auklet," Tsunami said.

"My, my, my. My older sisters, bullying poor old me, the youngest. However would I have known you could do such a thing."

"I saved your life, Auklet! Now do me a favour. Take your soldiers away, leave the students in peace and Jade Mountain. We don't need strife," Tsunami said.

"I don't owe you anything, my older sister, who saved the world," Queen Auklet said.

"Last chance, Auklet. Leave or I will make you leave," Anemone provoked. Would she use her animus magic for this? Would she risk her soul to keep Jade Mountain safe? Gelid wasn't sure is she would.

"I'm absolutely terrified, dear Anemone. My sister, an animus. We should all be afraid of you...or should we? Would _you_ risk your soul for _me_?"

"To the depths, I would. Last warning."

" _Lalalalala la lalala_ ," Queen Auklet sang without a tail of care.

"That's it! Enchant Auklet to feel guilt and make her and her army leave the mountains. Make them go back home to the kingdom of the sea," Anemone stated clearly.

Queen Auklet paused, her mouth open from her singing but without any words, and she stared at Tsunami and Anemone. She then started stepping back with a bolt of fear.

"Oh no! Tsunami! Anemone! I'm - I'm doing something horrible. I need - I need to go!" Queen Auklet said with a ripple of fear. Her guards didn't move. Not even their faces changed at all. Wouldn't they be surprised that Anemone used her magic on their queen?

"You need to go home," Anemone said.

"That - that's right! I've made a horrible mistake!" Queen Auklet looked to the sky, towards the army of seawings around the mountain. "SEAWINGS!" She yelled out to them.

"Take them away," Tsunami said.

Queen Auklet expression of deep fear then disappeared to a look of disappointment, as if some dragon asked what her name was. "Hold your positions."

"What? No!" Anemone roared. "You're supposed to take them home!"

"Do you feel worthless, dear sister? Your magic doesn't work on me. None of it does," Queen Auklet said in spite, she stepped forward, spreading her wings and making herself seem bigger, even though she was smaller than her sisters. "How does it feel to not have power?" She asked Anemone snout-to-snout.

How was that possible? No dragon could be immune to animus magic, not unless... _unless there is another animus out there in the world,_ Gelid thought. _Mist's father might be out there somewhere._

"How - how are you - that's not possible."

"Anything's possible, you should know that. You know what is definitely possible? Born feeling weak," Queen Auklet prompted. "Oh here's your biggest sister. She saved the world with her friends! _The mighty Tsunami_! The legendary Warrior of the Dragons of Destiny," She said to Tsunami. "Then here's your other older sister. An animus! The greatest power in Pyrrhia! Oh no one will ever be able to mess with her.

"Then there's the youngest, the one that needed saving, the one that wasn't destined to be anything other than another seawing princess. The one who became queen of the seawings."

"And that's not good enough for you?" Tsunami asked with a piercing glare.

Queen Auklet stood her ground. "NO! Not when either of her sisters can take it off her without lifting a talon! Except for you, Tsunami, you'd need to lift two talons, maximum." She said to Tsunami.

" _Take. Them. Away_ ," Tsunami huffed, leaning over Auklet.

"Oh, I'm very, very afraid," Queen Auklet said insincerely.

"You should be!" Anemone said. "I could - I...I challenge you for the throne of the seawings!"

Tsunami gasped, as did Mist. Gelid had to admit that she saw that coming.

Queen Auklet laughed, and soon, all the seawings in the sky were laughing along with her.

"Oh - oh that's funny," Queen Auklet said, rubbing her eye. "Challenge refused. I can do that."

"Coward!" Anemone shouted.

Queen Auklet suddenly looked serious. "What? Challenge you? No dragon in their right mind would challenge an animus."

"I can follow rules."

"Oh I'm very sure you can."

"Go eat a tail!" Mist roared, pushing past Gelid. "Leave the mountain alone! Or so help me-"

"The missing icewing princess," Queen Auklet interjected, looking at Mist. "Gone for four years until you mysteriously show up at the celebrations after it was attacked. You saved your aunt, the current queen of the icewings from the Talons of Power. Very noble...Or did you?"

Queen Auklet stared down, lifting a talon and checking her claws. "You just happen to show up at the right time... How heroic. But I'm wrong aren't I? It was you who attacked the celebrations, wasn't it?"

Mist glared at Queen Auklet but didn't defend herself. She breathed heavily.

"Oh, but that's none of my business," The seawing queen added. "I could be dead wrong, except that I know that the Talons of Power didn't carry out the attack."

"Go eat a pufferfish, Auklet," Tsunami gawked.

Queen Auklet ignored the remark. "And how do I know that? Well, one could say I'm in the Talons of Power. One could also add that I'm the one in charge."

"WHAT!?" The princesses roared.

"Well now that you all know... ATTACK!" Queen Auklet stood up and flared her wings. The seawings started to dive down. "SUBDUE THE ADULT DRAGONS! MAKE SURE NONE OF THEM GET AWAY! CAPTURE THE DRAGONETS!"

"No!" Gelid darted past Mist and tackled Queen Auklet, falling over the edge. She didn't mean to do that. All she needed to do was to destabilise Queen Auklet and stop the attack on the mountain.

Queen Auklet rolled off her, flapping her wings until she stopped falling. Gelid spread her wings, hoping she could catch the wind at the right angle to fly up. She did.

"Stupid icewing!" Queen Auklet roared. The green seawing watched Gelid carefully as she circled around. "Stop this right now and I promise you a quick death."

She looked back at the cave. The princesses hadn't retreated back inside but forming a blockade against the seawing soldiers, slashing at them as a warning until they got too close. She had to help them.

"I'm not the one dying tonight," Gelid said.

"Fine. GET HER!" The seawing queen pointed.

A deep blue seawing dove flew towards her with a spear.

Gelid breathed in deeply, and then exhaled with her mouth open as much as she could, feeling ice crystals shoot from her throat, hitting her teeth. The blue seawing screamed as her body froze and she dropped from the sky.

Queen Auklet roared in frustration.

There were too many seawings at the entrance of the cave and Gelid quickly saw as Anemone fell back inside, leaving Mist and Tsunami to deal with seawings. _Probably to get Clay,_ Gelid thought.

Gelid dove at the entrance, breathing in again and holding her breath. She opened her mouth but then a dragon smacked into her side and her ribs felt broken all over again. She hit the mountain rock face, above the entrance to the cave.

The seawing that hit her then grabbed her neck, pulled her from the rock face and threw her to the ground. There was a loud thud and throbbing pain erupted from her skull. Everything...nothing felt right. Someone shouted her name but she wasn't sure who. She wasn't moving, she couldn't. Everything was spinning out of place and she wanted to puke.

"Gelid! Get up!"

 _I'm trying...I swear._ "I'm trying...I'm trrrrryyyyyiinng..." she managed to say in a slur.

"Wait! Leave the two icewings. He has a different idea!" That was Queen Auklet's voice.

Gelid attempted to hoist herself up but everything hurt. Everything. her eyes hurt the most but searing pain came from the top of her head.

"Enchant the wearer of this bracelet to follow my every command." said a new voice.

Someone yanked her front talon and Gelid fell forward again. Something slithered down her leg, something smooth, like jewellery.

"Stand up," commanded a voice.

Gelid didn't know who that was but she had to. She had to do everything he said.

Gelid stood up, ignoring every sting and flash of pain.

"Stand there. Don't say anything. Don't move." commanded the same voice.

"Father?" Was that Mist's voice?


	11. Chapter 10

It was then she realised how big of an idiot she'd been. She didn't need Queen Blizzard at all. Blizzard wasn't important anymore. Or her tribe. She suddenly didn't care about her tribe at all.

And Swan? She did love him, for a while, but he wasn't important and never will be again.

"Oh sneezing walruses! Open your eyes!"

Gelid forced her eyes opened, even as they screamed to close, to shelter from further harm. But she had to do everything that dragon said.

Tiny droplets started falling to the ground and lightning crackled behind her. On the plateau in front of her was Mist staring at an icewing that Gelid never saw before. He was slightly bigger than Mist, and looked like Blizzard except without the vibrant string of blue and white scales down his back. His eyes were dauntingly dark blue - almost completely black.

Queen Auklet stood next to the unfamiliar icewing. She stared at Gelid with mild curiosity and a cocky smile. "You should've done that at the start. That would've been useful," she said to the icewing.

Tsunami wasn't at the entrance of the cavity but a batch of seawing soldiers occupied the cave space, staring down each tunnel. Mist wasn't fighting either, instead frozen in a state of disbelief.

The icewing smirked. "I didn't think it'd work but it did."

"Perfect," Queen Auklet said.

"Father?" Mist stepped forward carefully and eyed the unfamiliar icewing with courage that she seemed to have lost. "Is - is that you?" Her tone was unlike Gelid had ever heard. It was a mix of anxiousness and confusion.

The icewing turned to face Mist. "Yes, it's me, my daughter," he smiled proudly.

 _Oh,_ Gelid realised. _North. Prince North. He's returned and I have the honour of serving him. This is better than whatever I felt for Blizzard._

"You died - you died long ago." She stepped back. "Is this a mask? Reveal your true form!" Mist demanded, dazed but still strong. She reached a talon to his face and North carefully grabbed her wrist, his claws clinking on the copper bracelet. He stared at the bracelet and then lowered her talon.

"No, no, this is me. I promise I'll explain everything to you. Everything," he said, glancing at Gelid. "But first, I want to say how proud I am of you. I've always been proud but now, I'm even prouder. My daughter..."

A big burly cyan seawing descended from above and perched herself next to Queen Auklet. She glared at Gelid with the ferocity to crack glaciers in half. "Permission to execute this icewing, your majesty?" Asked the cyan seawing with an unmoving stare.

Queen Auklet looked at North, as if to ask him instead.

"Absolutely not," North said. Hah, North was a very important dragon. Of course, even Queen Auklet would need him for orders.

"No," Queen Auklet instructed to the cyan seawing. The seawing didn't grumble but her stare intensified, as if wishing the queen would change her mind. "Ice got your tongue, Commander?"

"She killed my wife," said the seawing commander sharply. "She killed Azure."

"Tragedies happen, Turquoise. They're inevitable. Azure was a loyal and brave soldier. I promise you a proper burial for her." Queen Auklet pointed at two soldiers behind Mist. "You two! Retrieve Azure's body down there. Carefully. If I see any fresh scratches then there will be two unfortunate seawings being dragged through the desert."

The two seawings nodded and lifted up into the air.

"As soon as we're done here, we're going back," Queen Auklet said to North. "I hope you don't plan to bring this one along." She pointed to Gelid.

"Of course I do," He replied.

"Hmph," said Turquoise.

"What have you done to her?" Mist trudged to stare at Gelid closely.

"You care about this dragon, don't you?" North asked her.

Mist considered it. "So what if I do?" She responded to him.

"Nothing, nothing at all. It's good to care about your tribe," North said. "But I also know that she has unwavering loyalty to your aunt. I won't let an icewing die but I also won't let her spoil our plans."

 _I do not,_ Gelid thought. She wanted to say to him that she had no loyalty to Blizzard anymore but then she remembered to stay silent, just like he ordered. _I'm loyal to you and will always be._

"Where are you taking us?" Mist asked.

"I'm taking you home, to where I've been all these years waiting for you," North said. "To the Bay of a Thousand Scales. Come with me, Mist, I want to tell you everything but not here."

Mist regarded what he said and then glanced at Mist.

 _Come on, Mist. You want to see your father. He's the most important dragon in the world._

"Fine," Mist said, as if reading Gelid's mind. "But you can't expect her to fly there. Look at her, I doubt she could even walk properly," she said to North, jerking her head at Gelid.

North looked bewildered for a moment, thinking of something. "I - I - you're right. I didn't think of that."

"You can heal her, can't you?" Mist asked.

"Now that would be a waste of magic, my animus friend," Queen Auklet said, receiving a glare from North. "But by all means, go ahead, animus icewing."

"If I may, don't waste it on her when there are dangerous dragons like Anemone," Turquoise said.

"If the soldiers wrapped her snout in the chains I enchanted to keep her from using her magic, then Anemone shouldn't pose a threat," North said to Turquoise.

"Perfect," said Queen Auklet.

"You did what?" Mist said, surprised. "You can do that?"

"I think so. I haven't ever used magic like that but - I'll explain to you later," He said to Mist, and then walked up to Gelid. "Heal this dragon completely."

Gelid felt her ribs fuse into place. She felt the throbbing pain on her head disappear and her eyes become clear. She felt the long cut down her neck close up and the end of her tail grow spikes. Such a shame though. That would've made a good story to anyone that asked but also, it wasn't everyday that North healed a dragon.

"Good now come with me," North instructed. "You can stay here if you want, if you don't fly off," he said to Mist.

"Where are you going?" Mist asked.

"To have a look inside, make sure everything to going to plan."

"What plan?"

"To-"

"Why don't you tell her later, when we're safer far from Jade Mountain?" Queen Auklet asked. "The mountain between the two most guarded kingdoms other than mine."

"Yes - yes, of course," North said.

"Fine then," Mist articulated with annoyance. "I'm staying right here."

"I won't be long," North promised, then walking between two seawing guards into the tunnel. Gelid followed. "It really works..." he muttered.

North progressed into the tunnel which led to the sleeping caves. In the large hollowed room were a bunch of seawings surrounding something.

"Let me through," North said and the seawings gave way to him and Gelid. Small dragonets from each different tribe except the seawings stood trembling in a group.

There was a larger skywing student that hissed at North and then poked by a spear from a seawing soldier. The skywing coiled back.

"Good to see. Where is Anemone?" North asked the soldiers.

"We had to chase her and her rainwing accomplice but she's currently restrained in the cavern," said the soldier closest to him.

"And the teachers?"

"Huddled into the lower caves. They won't be getting out."

"Well, save a detachment to monitor the mountains. We don't want any wandering dragons knowing what happened here," North ordered.

Gelid whirled out the way as North turned around and started walking back out of the cave and into the tunnel.

A seawing with light blue scales and peculiar yellow spots leapt out of the group of herded seawings. "Wait! There's one more thing, uh, sir."

North twisted to look at the seawing, clicking his teeth as he did. "And what would that be?"

"Along with Anemone, there was another seawing protecting her, not one of ours. We had to separate him in another chamber."

"Intriguing. Show him to me," North ordered.

The yellow spotted seawing guided them into the large cavern in the mountain. He said the chamber was on the other side so they had to fly over the long underground lake, pillars of stalagmites and odd flora that Gelid had never seen before. Above, there two glowing moons. One almost full and the other a thin silvery crescent.

Metal clangs echoed through the cave, resonating somewhere further down the river stream. Gelid guessed that was the enchanted chain used to prevent Anemone from using her magic. North was clever - getting rid of the one animus that could rival him.

They descended to a cave that licked the edge of the water and they trailed in with Gelid entering last and closest to the single exit. In the cave was a grey blue seawing that looked more on the skinny side than the others that surrounded him. A rope was tied around his snout, and other coils around his shoulders and talons, being pulled by five seawings in attempt to subdue him.

Already, the grey blue seawing had pink scales along where the ropes rubbed too hard.

"Down!" A seawing yanked on a long end of the rope around the subdued seawing's snout, forcing him to fall forward and onto his stomach.

"Keep him down!" Yelled another seawing, pulling a rope from one of his front talons.

"Blrrrghgfuff!" Said the subdued seawing. Though, the seawing probably meant to say something much ruder as he stared at North with the same stare a Gelid grew accustomed to from Mist.

North stepped forward to cut the rope around the seawing's snout. The seawing rocked his head from side to side until a soldier grabbed his horns to keep him still. North cut the rope and the seawing roared with fury, biting at North.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to slay all of you! You disloyal sacks of-" the seawing was interrupted.

"What's your name?" North asked.

"None of your business, white scales!" Responded the seawing. He hissed at the seawings pulling the ropes.

North waved a talon at Gelid, signalling for her to stay put while he began to circle the subdued seawing, carefully stepping over the ropes.

"You're a strong seawing, aren't you? Pity," North tsked. "A brave and loyal seawing such as yourself shouldn't be wasted. You'd die an unfaithful death."

"My loyalties lie with Princess Anemone! Not Auklet! If I die today then I'd die protecting her!" Argued the seawing.

"Why?"

"Because I do! Because she's the best and the rightful ruler of the seawings! Not that pretender!"

"Then you'll die. Is that what you want? You'd rather be stowed away with no one to remember who you were?" North leaned close to him, whispering into his ear. "Not with Queen Auklet you won't. Think of it. You'd be a strong and loyal commander in her army. You'll help shape the world under her. Your name will be etched in history. You'll be remembered forever." He stepped away.

The seawing considered North's words. "I would?"

"Yes. Forever."

"Not like Darkstalker. Not like Albatross..."

North shook his head. "Like the Dragons of Destiny."

"I - I..." The seawing shook his head defiantly, as if fighting a war in his mind.

 _Just do what he says_ , Gelid wanted to say but couldn't.

The seawing suddenly stamped a talon up, hoisting himself up. "No!" He roared. He clenched his teeth on the rope closest to him, breaking it and then bit the other, freeing his front talons.

"Stop him!" North yelled.

The seawing whirled, smashing his tail against the seawing soldiers and then the other side. They dropped his ropes and the seawing bolted for the exit, rushing past Gelid.

"Stop him at all costs!" North yelled at Gelid.

Gelid raced after the seawing, stopping with her talons in the stream to see where he went. She spotted him in air then lifted into the air after him. Strangely, he didn't fly up into the open sky but flew further down the stream where Gelid heard the metal clanging.

If he was going to free Anenome then Gelid had to stop him.

Gelid sped up to him, seeing the loose ropes around his ankles and she pulled them, throwing her wings forward for an abrupt stop.

The seawing yelped and dropped, with Gelid releasing the ropes and the blue dragon plonked into the river. She plunged into the water and pushed him down in the army of bubbles, feeling her hind claws dig into his tail.

Seizing his snout, the seawing struggled, creating waves and ripples in the stream. Gelid wrapped her talon around his throat and thought, _Whatever North wants, I obey. He gets what he wants. Always._ And she slashed his throat without a second thought, letting the water turn red.

* * *

Mist grazed the sky in silence.

Gelid thought the princess would've been more excited to see her father after all these years. Though, she was probably thinking of all the questions to ask him when they arrived at their destination. The Bay of a Thousand Scales.

It was clever making the Talons of Powers' hideout all the way out there, on the peninsula before the archipelago in the sea kingdom. Gelid always thought that they'd be in a giant cave system under the ground somewhere or in the mountains.

It explained Queen Auklet's part. With the queen of the seawings involved, that meant a literal army of dragons on their side and protection in her kingdom.

What surprised Gelid most of all was that they weren't spotted when travelling over the mountains. Or between the mud and sky border. Or even distantly by the town of Sanctuary.

She would've thought a group of more than fifty seawings, a bunch of coloured dragonets, and three icewings would be incredibly conspicuous. But now that they were over the ocean between the mainland and the islands, no dragon would be able to spot them.

Their destination hovered closer and closer, and Gelid was able to make out dragons walking along the beaches, in and out of palm huts, and flying around. They weren't just seawings either. There were a multitude of different dragons from almost all tribes. Except from the icewings of mudwings. Though, there did appear to be a pale and silt-coloured dragon under a palm tree.

Queen Auklet ordered the seawing soldiers away and for a small group to take the dragonets to a secure building to be watched over. "I hope this was worth it," she said to North before flying away

North landed on a platform in the water raised by columns. Mist landed beside him, turning her head at the new surroundings with Gelid behind her.

"Great, we're here. Now tell me everything," Mist said to North.

Gelid had to admit that she also eager to know where North had been, if not dead for the last four years.

North nodded and started walking down a bridge that connected the platform to the others and the sand of the beach. "Where do you want to start?"

"How about the part where you didn't die," Mist offered with a sharp tone.

"Ah, yes. I admit it wasn't my best idea but..." North explained what happened that night. It was his idea to go in hiding. He staged the sandwings and that skywing to be in the desert that exact night. He wanted it to look like he died and needed Mist to tell Blizzard about it. He planned for Mist to spot the note in the bracelets and to meet him at Rain's Merriment, which she never got, unfortunately.

"But I saw you dead, I saw your body in the desert," Mist said.

"Now that would be the clever use of animus magic," North answered.

"That you never told me about. How could you not tell me? I could've been born an animus with no idea how," Mist said coldly.

"You wouldn't be, I wasn't born an animus. Icewings haven't had an animus in centuries," North sounded exactly like Blizzard at that point. If not born, then how?

"So you just spontaneously transformed into one. Terrific."

North halted at an intersection on the platform. "No, no. I just - I...I was in the rainforest. When Glory was queen, she asked me to inspect the prisons, in case there were any weak points, any way the prison structure to improve. I was walking past the cells when - hmm, what was his name? Shapeshifter. The Shapeshifter gave me a note. A scrap of paper," North recounted.

" _The_ Shapeshifter gave you it? So the most dangerous rainwing in history just gave you a scrap of paper before he killed himself?" Mist asked.

"It was a piece of Darkstalker's scroll," North said simply, meeting Mist surprised face. "I instantly knew what it was so I enchanted myself to be an animus. I tested it and those were the first things I ever made." He pointed at the copper bracelets around Mist's wrists.

Mist rolled her talons around, inspecting the bracelets for the hundredth time. "That explains that..." she muttered. "And you _never_ told me about it."

"I did! Or at least, I tried to tell you," North said.

"Oh so now it's my fault I never found out. Splendid." Mist rolled her eyes.

"No, no, I never said that. Things happen," North defended. "I'm here telling you now is what matters."

"And all this time I blamed Blizzard for your death."

"You did?"

Mist explained what happened to her, including winding up in a prison in the desert. She explained the attack on the celebrations and what happened after.

"So Queen Auklet was right about that. I mean - I knew you were brilliant but this tops it," North smiled.

Mist didn't repay the smile but mumbled to herself. "You could've enchanted something to find me, instead of waiting so long."

"I didn't think of it. I don't know how far my magic goes."

"Animus dragons can do _anything_ ," Mist spited.

"I didn't know that," North said, thinking. "Do you want to be an animus?" He offered.

"Absolutely not," Mist answered, turning away.

How could Mist turn down that offer? Gelid imagined all the things she'd do if she was an animus.

North looked as if he wanted to ask why but didn't. They continued down steps to the flat top of a beach. The baked sand was intertwined with leaves and shells, making sure their feet wouldn't sink. They passed the mudwing that sat under the palm tree that Gelid spotted earlier. It was the mudwing princess, Willow. What was she doing there? Was she in the Talons of Power too?

Mist waited until they were a distance from Willow before asking. "What's she doing here?" She asked North.

"Hmm?" North glanced at Willow for a moment. "Oh, that one. Poor mudwing princess. Her older sister challenged Queen Ibis for the throne but lost and died. The little princess watched everything. She came to us offering her army in exchange for killing Ibis. Since she's the oldest daughter currently, she'd inherit the throne."

That seemed to leave Mist content.

North talked about the base and where everything was. On an island closest to the peninsula was a floating prison. Under the sea was a seawing base where seawing soldiers could accommodate without feeling too far from their ocean palace.

They walked into a shadow of a grey building made of stone and wood. Mist questioned it.

"That's the debate hall. That's where all the decisions are made," North answered.

"Hmm. Queen Auklet said that she's the one in charge. Do you do everything she says?" Mist asked.

"No, there's no _one_ dragon in charge. The highest-ranking dragons are the ones that made a plea and the others vote on it. Like myself. I'm important so I have a say in decisions," North said. "But occasionally Auklet has an idea she likes to express and everyone listens, just they would for me."

"Is there a Conveyance mirror in there?"

North hesitated. "I can tell you that later but for now." He carefully clasped her talon. "Join me, Mist. Join me here where we can shape the world. Save it."

Mist grumbled something. "Save from what, exactly?"

"Inconsiderate dragons. Dragons like your aunt. Dragons like Fuchsia that only care about their throne."

"What do you mean _my aunt_?"

"You deserve the throne, Mist. You'd be a perfect queen."

Mist snatched her talon away. "I don't want the throne!" She almost hissed at him and then turned away to grimace at the ocean.

"Maybe not now but." He turned her snout towards him, even though her eyes pinned at the sand to avoid him. "You could be. I know that you don't want it but you deserve it. You could lead our tribe to prosperity, Mist. My daughter, look at me."

Mist was reluctant but turned her eyes at him, shaking her head to make him let go.

"I know you. You have brilliant leadership. You have the qualities of a true icewing queen," North said to her.

"Even though I'm half rainwing," Mist muttered.

"Just think about it. Do me that favour."

"Fine! I will think about it. Joining. Not becoming queen. I can't think of anything worse," Mist said.

North exhaled heavily. "I suppose..."

"Now, I'm tired. Where can I sleep?"

"Sleeping rooms are over here."

North directed her a quiet hut that floated above the sea water on the other side of the peninsula, connected by a single bridge. Mist went inside when North pulled Gelid away.

"I'm surprised this still works," North said, looking at the enchanted bracelet. "I guess animus magic can really do anything. Now, listen up. You're going to follow my daughter around wherever she goes. Remember everything she says and does. Do not talk to her. If she needs anything, come to me. And do not let her leave this place. Understood?" He instructed Gelid.

Gelid nodded.

She'd do this for him. She was completely loyal to Prince North and did whatever he asked of her. This was her destiny. This was what she always wanted: to serve a higher power. To help lead the continent to a new age where the Talons of Power ruled over all.

She was going to save the world.


	12. Chapter 11

Mist took one look at Gelid with her long neck and immediately scrambled to her feet, falling off the bed in the process. She knocked into a table covered in a white cloth and it rocked side to side until Mist placed a talon on the cloth to settle it. The princess breathed deeply, collecting herself.

Mist stared at Gelid with frigid eyes. "What in the blazes are you doing - oh, right," she realised quickly. "Have you been watching me the entire night?" Mist walked up to Gelid and waved her talon in front of her eyes, blurring the light from the single window.

Yes, Gelid had watched her all night. It wasn't the most pleasant thing either - hearing the princess mumble and toss around loudly in the pitch-black night. The morning sun didn't help either when Gelid saw the princess tossing and turning. It was a wonder any dragon got any sleep at all.

Mist stared into her eyes. "Hellooooo? Deranged dragonet?"

Gelid had her instructions not to talk to Mist. Not a single word. Of course she was going to comply. It was the Prince North that commanded her!

The princess leaned back, sitting on her tail. "He ordered you not to speak, of course he did," Mist said, then sighing. "The only dragon I can trust here is a statue. Perfect. Just perfect. Can you at least say something? One word?" She asked Gelid but she didn't twitch.

"Come on! Where's your annoying snout? Where's your frozen little brain when I need it?" Mist tapped the top of Gelid's snout, right between the eyes. "SAY SOMETHING!"

 _Sorry, Mist,_ Gelid thought. _I have my orders._

"Of course the one dragon who isn't related to me and actually has the guts to speak to me CANNOT speak right now," She fumed, her scales pulsating with red and orange and lavender. "Why is EVERYONE always so annoying? Even my own father of all dragons."

Mist stepped away and started to pace up and down the side of the bed, mumbling to herself as she did. "Maybe if I join...Father wants me to be queen...But Blizzard...That would be a catastrophe...Hate me...I could do...Yes that sounds better...No...Terrible idea..."

There was a moment when Mist thought of something and lifted her snout up with a genuine smile but that faded quickly and Mist shook her head, going back to mumbling. Eventually she stopped pacing and sat in front of the cloth draped table, slamming the tip of her snout on it.

"Stupid. Stupid. This is so STUPID!" Mist said.

It looked as if the ice cold princess was about to start crying but then the princess looked at Gelid with dry eyes. She then stared at the white cloth, thought of something and then approached Gelid.

"Give me your talon wearing the bracelet," Mist ordered.

There wasn't anything against North's orders that meant Gelid didn't have to do what Mist said. But also, he didn't say she had to. Should she do what Mist said? Would she get in trouble? It was only a tiny thing yet Gelid didn't feel compelled to do it.

"OH GOOD MOONS!" Mist wrapped her claws around Gelid's wrist and lifted her talon. Mist first tried pulling the silver bracelet from her scales but to no avail. Gelid figured there was another enchantment on the bracelet that meant it fit perfectly around her wrist.

Another clever idea from North.

Should Gelid have done something? She seemed to think of something important about the bracelet but the thought quickly scattered.

"Hmm," Mist pondered. "I can try...but I've never tried it like this. Keep yourself still. This shouldn't hurt," Mist instructed Gelid, not that Gelid planned on moving anyway. Instead, she watched Mist, unsure of what to do.

Mist brought her talon close to her mouth and for a moment Gelid thought Mist was going to bite her talon off. But instead, Mist's pair of long teeth unlatched from the top of her jaw, like fangs did from a viper. A dark blue liquid shot from her fangs and sizzled on the bracelet. Her scales quickly went cold where the droplets landed on her.

A section of the bracelet crushed itself, ruining the smooth exterior into an uneven jagged mess and Mist snapped it apart.

Suddenly Gelid felt hatred, guilt and sadness all at once.

She knocked the broken bracelet from Mist, letting it fall to the ground and she repeatedly stamped on it, while at the same time wanting to be as far away from it as possible. She scrabbled backwards, quickly realising that there was a cabinet directly behind her that she really wanted to smash. Anything to get away from that.

Swan! Her mind first went to him. The memory of being curled up in his wing. His tender smile. His soothing voice. How could she think of not loving him?

And Queen Blizzard! How on all of Pyrrhia could Gelid ever forget what her queen had done for her? How could she ever dispose of her loyalty? Queen Blizzard meant everything!

"Try not to break anything," Mist said to her.

" _Not BREAKING anything_?" Gelid almost roared. "You try being under that magic for an entire day and not lose your mind!"

Mist glanced at the bracelet, which was nothing more than a twisted mess of silver metal. "You seem alright so far."

"I'm not. I'm really not." Gelid bent over, leaning forward, feeling every one of her scales urge to stay still, frozen like she was before. No! She couldn't be. She was free from the enchantment...so why did it seem like she still had it over her?

"Quick! Order me to do something!" Gelid pleaded. "Anything!"

Mist quickly looked around, thinking. "Uh, tell me exactly what you think of me," she said to Gelid.

"I think you're stupidly brilliant! And conflicting! And confusing! And annoying! And obnoxious! I didn't like you at the start and I wanted to get rid of you but it's now dawning on me that you're not such a bad dragon! And if you were a little nicer then other dragons might respect you!" Gelid said in one complete breath. She collapsed on the ground, wondering where all her strength went to.

Perhaps it was because she hadn't slept since that morning in Swan's hut. Perhaps it was because after everything, she wasn't sure what kind of dragon she wanted to be. Perhaps it was because she was literally on the other side of the continent from her home.

"Hmph. Now that's a first. I don't know why I asked you that," Mist said.

Gelid looked at the claw markings on the floor where her talons carved scratches. She missed the ice already. Then it hit her that Mist said something. "Asked me what?"

"What you thought of me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting."

"Oh, that..." Gelid wasn't sure either. She just spat everything out in a rush to make sure that spell was gone. Or at least most of it. Her tail still felt like stone. "I wasn't sure either," she said truthfully.

"Did you really want me gone?" Mist asked. Some part of her tone didn't sound angry but surprised.

"I did," Gelid said, collecting herself. "I couldn't think of anything worse than having you in the kingdom, even though you were a princess with a higher ranking than me. And the fact that Queen Blizzard wanted you around. You weren't very friendly."

"Well neither were you," Mist said. "You always made fun of me. I'm sorry I'm not _perfect_."

"Fun of you? I never made fun of you." Despised her, most likely, but not mock. Gelid was sure of that.

Mist scowled at her. "Well it _looked_ like it. Especially when you were around that angry icewing."

"You mean Puffin? You did permanently disfigure her husband-to-be," Gelid recalled. _And they're supposed to be getting married soon._

"OK so that was my fault. I'll take that but you could've tried to be a bit more open to having me around. It didn't help when you started calling me names," Mist said, glancing away.

It never got to her just how deeply Gelid did insult Mist. "To be fair, you didn't give a lot of space to trust you. You did almost kill Queen Blizzard and you sound like you didn't wanted to be there anyway."

"I didn't! And that was mostly because of icewings like you!"

Gelid never thought of herself as a bully. She always thought she stood up to bullying. Stood up to Mist because she was a bully. But she wasn't.

"I apologise. I didn't think - I didn't think about you. Just what I wanted," Gelid admitted. She sat up and curled her tail around her feet. She felt something horrible in her stomach that felt like she swallowed an entire penguin in one bite.

Mist breathed carefully. "OK. OK. Let's just - just figure out a way to get out of here."

Gelid suddenly sprung forward, grabbing Mist's shoulders. "No! You can't leave! North wants you to stay here and I'll do whatever he wants! I need to be silent! I can't move!"

Mist pushed her away and Gelid landed on her back. The princess swiftly pressed a talon on her tail and her stomach, and used her front talons to push down on her wing and her snout.

"What!" Mist said, astonished.

"Enchantment! Enchantment!" Gelid cried, hearing North's words rattle around in her head. Her heart exploded at the thought of him and she really wanted to yell.

Mist released her.

Gelid sprung to her feet but stumbled, leaning on the nearby wall instead. "I HATE animus magic!" Gelid breathed, hoping every exhale would make that cursed spell go away. She wished it was an animal she could claw and bite and kill to make herself feel better. A walrus would've been nice.

"You and me both," Mist said.

It was so STUPID! How come the magic could affect dragons? That wasn't _fair_! All of her dreams of being an animus withered and died. Now she hated it. Animus dragons were dangerous. Too dangerous. The only good animus was Anemone so far as the longest living one with a rational head.

North wasn't born an animus yet it still felt that he already lost his mind.

The despicable voice of the icewing prince echoed through her mind and she started hitting her head against the wall. Anything to stop hearing that voice. That annoying and stupid and entrancing voice.

"Stop that. I need your head intact!" Mist pulled Gelid away. "Give me your talon." Gelid lifted her talon but Mist meant the other one that was once wrapped in the silver bracelet.

"What are you doing?" Gelid asked. Mist tied a strip of white cloth around her wrist and tucked the loose ends in between.

"Making sure you look like you're still under the spell." She stepped back as soon as she finished, observing her talonwork at a short distance. "At a distance, it looks like the bracelet but not up close...it'll have to do."

"What are we doing?" Gelid asked.

"We're going to figure out how to fix everything," Mist answered.

Gelid remembered North's offer to Mist. "So you're not joining the Talons?"

Mist looked at the wall, thinking. "No," sighed Mist. "My father...there's something not right about him. He always spoke like he cared for Blizzard. She is the oldest. But now, he thinks of her as an obsolete obstacle in a grand plan. His plan. His plan to make me queen of the icewings."

"And you say you don't want to be," Gelid added.

"Exactly. It's like he suddenly stopped listening to whatever I have to say. I'm his daughter! He has to listen to me!" Mist said with a strike of sudden venom. "I don't know what happened to him but whoever that dragon is - he's not my father."

 _I wish my father could've ever seen me as a queen,_ Gelid thought. She wasn't sure where that thought came from so she ignored it.

They still had to figure out a few things. She hoped Mist had some ideas. "Do you have a plan?"

Mist walked to the window, peering outside, looking for something. "Maybe. We need to gather information first. I think there's a Conveyance Mirror in the hall. We can use that."

"What about the prisoners? I would guess they have quite a few." _King Sanguine_ , Gelid thought. _Queen Fuchsia is angry about his disappearance. What happened? She wanted to attack the rainforest but no one has said anything about it. Maybe it was a bluff?_

"And the dragonets," Gelid added. "They took the dragonets from the Academy, Mist. We need to rescue them first."

"First we need to figure out a way to rescue them," Mist pointed out. "I don't know where they are and even if we did find them and rescued them, we'd still need to get them out of here safely."

"Oh, right. I didn't think of that."

"There's a lot of things you don't think about," Mist said. "I petition that we investigate the prisons first. Saving them will give us numbers. Hopefully. Then we break into the hall and use the Conveyance mirror to call Queen Firefly."

"Why not Queen Blizzard? Or Queen Thorn?"

"Because Queen Firefly is the closest out of both of them. There is Queen Ibis but she's solitary and quiet. Queen Fuchsia is the second closest but mostly likely rolling on her throne because she's a pain in the tail. Queen Thorn would help, I imagine, but she's still far away. And I think Firefly be more likely to help me."

"That's...thoughtful. I didn't think you'd be so considerate," Gelid sniggered.

Mist snorted. "Try to get used to it. I've been trying it out and so far, not the worst idea I've had."

"Oh yeah? What was your worst idea?" She asked, curious.

"Trying to kill my aunt," Mist said simply.

"Oh." Gelid thought it would've been something else or a funny story. "What time is it?"

Mist looked up at the window, calculating. "Noon, I think."

"We should do this now."

Mist whirled around, walking past Gelid to the door. "Just stay beside me but not too close. Talk very quietly. If North sees us then he needs to think you're still under his magic."

The princess strolled out and across the bridge connected the hut to the sand. Gelid followed carefully, as to not accidentally step on Mist's tail. Her feet immediately felt itchy walking over the sand and she had to fight the impulse to shake her feet.

There was a sandwing holding a spear at the top of the beach standing next to a fat palm tree. He flicked his black tongue at them. A darker blue seawing poked her head from beside the sandwing.

"What are you staring at?" Hissed the sandwing to Gelid.

"You talking to me? Keep your snout to yourself!" Mist hissed back with a louder tone.

"Hmph," said the sandwing.

"Don't bother that one, Mesquite," said the seawing, nodded to Gelid. She took his free talon, squeezing gently. "That's the one the prince enchanted. She's as dumbfounded as a sea urchin."

Mesquite hesitated and grumbled, resuming to sit like a guard.

Something tapped her leg lightly and when Gelid turned to look, Mist jerked her head towards the tip of the peninsula. A large building sat flat on the closest island with a single wooden bridge to connect it. It had a pair of giant doors made of metal that looked as if it only opened one way.

Mist mouthed "prison" to Gelid and then walked towards the island building. Gelid followed closely.

Gelid caught up to walk beside Mist, trying her best to not look suspicious in any way. The sandwing reminded her of something. "Where's Amber and Torrid? They were at the Academy when Auklet attacked," she asked Mist.

"Hush, keep your voice down and don't look at me when you're speaking," Mist said in a whisper, not moving her neck.

Gelid faced forward, not looking at Mist but focusing her sight on the flat sand they walked on and the bridge that they've yet to cross.

"I'm not sure what happened to them. I didn't see them on the way here," Mist said.

"They could've been locked up."

"Guess we'll find out but if we're lucky, they could've escaped somehow and gone to tell someone."

A seawing guard at the entrance stamped his spear on the flat ground. "Halt!" He instructed. A chain of keys rattled around his neck with his movements. "You have no jurisdiction to enter!"

"No _jurisdiction_? Do YOU know who I am?" Mist pressed. She approached the guard and glowered at him with black eyes. "I am the daughter of Prince North, you flounder-head! I am Queen Blizzard's niece and heir to the throne. I have every jurisdiction to go wherever I want to go!"

The guard whimpered, easily realising that he shouted at the wrong dragon. "So-sorry, your majesty but-but I have my orders to not let any dragons in apart from Queen Auklet and Prince North."

"Well then I'm just going to have to go back to my FATHER, who might I add, is PRINCE NORTH and tell him of this disrespect. Did you know what he's an animus?" Mist grabbed Gelid's shoulder and yanked her forward. "He turned this miserable and disobedient dragon into my personal servant with his magic. Think of what he might do to you once he hears of this!"

"Um, well. I g-guess I can let you in," stammered the guard.

"Just a look, that's all I wanted in the first place," Mist said, releasing Gelid.

The guard leaned the spear on the wall. He stepped towards the door, fumbling between the keys on the chain, picking one out that had an unfurled wing handle and then placed it in the keyhole. He turned it until it clicked, took it out and then pushed the door open.

"Finally. Thank you." Mist said to the guard and then stepped inside.

"The door is unlocked. Come out when you're ready and I'll lock it back up again," Said the guard. He stared warily at Gelid as she past him and into the prison. The guard closed the door behind her.

The prison was entirely lit up by torches and a thin haze clouded the ceiling. There was a single walking corridor down the building with cells on either side and even another layer of cells on top. From what Gelid saw, there seemed to be mostly sandwings wrapped in chains in the cells. Most of the cells had three or four dragons in each of them and not much moving space at all.

"Count the dragons. I'll see if there's another way out of here," Mist said, then continuing down the corridor to the very end.

Gelid walked past each cell, counting every dragon. So far all the dragons were adults, which meant the dragonets - especially the students from the academy had to be somewhere else.

They weren't particularly healthy adults either. They didn't look like they were starving or thirsty but skinny enough not to be useful or pose a threat.

Approaching the end, there was a very red and vibrant skywing that Gelid immediately recognised. King Sanguine. He had the cell to himself and lay on the opposite end, closest to the wall and the small holes that let fresh air and beams of sunlight through. He looked...sad, especially with the way his neck curved into a depressed arch. A chain around his snout kept him from speaking.

"Don't worry, your majesty. We're going to get you out of here. All of you," she said, looking down the corridor of cells. Somehow, they were going to be freed. They just had to figure out how.

King Sanguine stared at her with his face becoming brighter and then nodded.

Mist scurried from the end room.

"How many?" Mist asked her.

"Sixty-three," Gelid said, hoping she counted right.

"Including the ones on the cells above?"

Gelid nodded.

"Seal guts. There's no other way. The back room has chains and key moulds. No weapons and no secret way out," Mist said. "The only way out is to storm the entrance."

"And into an army of Talons. There's still the hidden base under the water filled with an entire legion of seawings. They won't make it out. Look at them."

Mist sighed, looking defeated. "We need to get help. We need to break into the hall and get the mirror, summon aid from the other kingdoms."

"This isn't counting the dragonets either. They're not here. Auklet put them somewhere else," Gelid said.

"Probably on the other side of the base. Keeping the adults and dragonets from each other means more effort to save either of them. ARGGH! I hate it when there are dragons smarter than me," Mist added, scowling.

"You'll get used to it," Gelid said.

"Alright then, plan B it is. Come on."

Gelid led the way to the entrance, making sure Mist exited first to keep the illusion of the spell. The guard outside locked the doors up. No doubt Mist took the key into account too. That meant they had to take the keys when they had the chance.

They started walking down the beach, closer to the other huts when Gelid remembered something.

"Mist, I didn't see Amber or Torrid," Gelid whispered, making sure not to look at Mist

"Then they must've snuck out somewhere when the seawings were too occupied with the Dragons of Destiny. I hope they're alright..." Mist uttered.

There were dragons all over the beach front but not near the Debate hall, which meant Mist and Gelid could check the surroundings. There was a small shroud of green bushes and palm trees behind the hall.

"Maybe we should wait until dark before even thinking of breaking in," Gelid suggested.

Mist considered it. "That's too long. We need to do it now."

"We'll get caught, Mist. Look at all those dragons. One of them is bound to spot us or at least you."

Mist walked up to the base of the building where it touched the grass near the shroud, looking up at the grey stone wall. There wasn't any windows or open pockets where a dragon could enter. Gelid guessed there was only one way in, like the prison was designed.

She extended her smooth wing, watching it turn the same grey colour that matched the building.

"Remember the prophecy?" Gelid asked her.

"Don't remind me of that. Prophecies are incoherent messes made by the fabric of reality. A stupid way to tell our impending future," Mist described, lowering her wing.

"But you can't ignore it. Remember what Sunseer said? 'As slow and weary and wise is best'."

"I am being wise," Mist said, remembering to keep her voice down. "I'm thinking this through. The longer we wait for help to come, the more likely something bad will happen. Always."

"How do you know that?" Gelid asked.

"Because it always does."

"This isn't thinking it through. This is rushing in desperation," Gelid said.

"I know!" Mist growled, with a flash of red going down her tail. "Sometimes the best way isn't the easiest way."

"Even if it's the riskiest way?"

"Yes, even if it's the riskiest way."

 _Now you're sounding like a queen,_ Gelid thought.

Mist growled. "The building is made of solid stone! Let's go around. There could be a back way."

Gelid followed Mist as they turned and continued to look behind the hall. The shroud of greenery proved thicker than Gelid thought first. The instant she stepped into the foliage, her talons almost tripped over a grass string on the ground. A branch overhead almost poked her eyes but she managed to duck in time.

"Psst, Mist," Said a voice.

"Gelid." Said another.

Mist swatted her tail over Gelid's front talon. "You don't have to say my name that loudly. I'm right here."

"I didn't say your name. I thought you said mine," Gelid responded.

"But..." Mist stopped as soon as she started talking but Gelid read her mind.

 _If you didn't say my name, then who?_

"Over here," called the voice that Gelid heard first.

Mist followed the voice into the thicker part of the shroud, ducking under a branch into a small clearing that smelt of something rotting and salt. Two tall palm trees grew in the clearing. One had an odd green pattern around the trunk that...grew? What? That didn't make sense.

The other tree had two golden orbs floating around it that dazzled in the sunlight.

A dragon materialised out off thin air with her tail wrapped around the tree. She had leafy green scales, orange coloured wings and blue scales down her back from her nose.

"Glory," Mist said, approaching the older rainwing with a smile.

On the tree next to the one Glory perched herself on, was a white dragon that looked like -

"Swan," Gelid called to him and greeted him with a gentle nuzzle. The golden orbs that hovered around the tree were his helmet and armband.

Swan smiled, welcoming Gelid warmly. He slithered down the tree, taking her talon and holding it while he rested his head on top of hers.

She missed him. Ever since being freed from the spell, all Gelid wanted was to see Swan again.

"I missed you," Gelid said.

"Little Opal," He replied affectionately. "It's only been a day, yet the feeling is mutual."

Somewhere around them, Mist and Glory were speaking to each other but Gelid didn't care. She just wanted this moment with him.

She pulled away from his warmth, taking her talon back. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Swan begun to say with a smile, as if remembering something funny. "When you see an entire kingdom of seawings emerge from the ocean, you tend to get a little curious and tell some very important dragons about it. Next thing I knew, I followed them to Jade Mountain and then here."

Did Swan see everything? How much? Did he watch Gelid brutally murder that seawing? She didn't mean to and she just felt horrible about it now.

"And I just happened to be a sloth," Glory said to him.

"And of course her majesty followed too," Swan added. "I am grateful for that. I thought I was losing my mind."

"Purely. You've gone insane," Glory said.

Swan laughed.

"What are you doing here, Mist?" Glory asked her.

"My penguin head of a father. That's why," Mist said. She explained everything that happened. Including North's return and his transformation into an animus dragon. He enchanted Gelid until Mist broke the spell. She explained the prison located at the top of the Bay, before the whirl of islands. She explained her plan.

"Don't forget the dragonets," Gelid said. "We still have no idea where they are or how to rescue them."

"That's horrible," Swan said.

"We're going to have to find them quickly. Our forces are marshalling along the border of the mud kingdom. That's as much leniency Queen Ibis is giving us," Glory said.

"Forces?" Mist asked.

"Two sandwings, friends of yours I assume-"Glory flicked her tail at Mist"-came to Thorn explaining what happened. She was able to gather her army faster than us, once we realised what was going on too. Half of the armies have arrived already, awaiting the others. I heard we're receiving some icewing support too."

"What about Queen Ibis and Queen Fuchsia? Why aren't they joining us?" Gelid asked.

Glory looked at Swan. "Ibis doesn't want anything to do with this."

"Remember Willow?" Gelid asked Mist. She nodded. "Willow joined the Talons. She wants Queen Ibis assassinated so she can take the throne."

"That's...surprising. I've heard nothing less than admiration for the mudwing princess, " Swan said. "I thought she was respectable."

"I think a lot of dragons thought she was respectable," Gelid said. _Including Queen Ibis, who has no idea what her eldest daughter has been up to._

"As for Fuchsia, my daughter hasn't had any luck getting through to her," Glory said.

Mist mumbled.

"Your quiet words are enlightening us," Glory said to Mist.

"Fuchsia is the wrong colour of scale to be ruling," Mist said. She went on.

Gelid heard something not far away. At first she thought there was a dragon in the shroud with them, watching them but there wasn't a single scale out of place. The sound wasn't the rustling of leaves or branches either, more like the vigorous flapping wings and air in turmoil. Whatever it was, it was progressively getting louder and louder.

"Do you hear that?" Gelid asked, hoping some other ears heard what she was hearing. "It's like they're having a race out there."

Swan looked up to the sky. "I hear it," He said.

"We should check it out," Gelid said to Mist. The princess nodded.

"Keep yourselves safe at a distance. We don't need more dragons chained up in prison," Mist said to Glory and Swan.

"I don't know about that, Swan has a tendency to spring into situations sometimes. Might have to save his tail," Glory smirked at Swan.

"If only, your majesty," Swan replied passively.

Mist walked out of the clearing. "Come on, Gelid." She called from beyond the trees.

"Be safe, my little Opal," Swan said.

"I will," Gelid promised, leaving his warmth and following Mist down towards the beach.

A single deep green seawing lay on the sand, looking as if he flew around the continent a few dozen times. North watched the seawing closely while other dragons looked on.

"What's going on?" Mist asked North.

Gelid carefully positioned herself behind Mist's wings and straightened her face.

North shrugged his wings at her. "Recover your breath, soldier. What happened?" He asked the seawing.

The soldier huffed and puffed, his gills pulsating, lurching for another breath. "AN ARMY!" Shouted the soldier.

"WHAT! WHERE!" North demanded.

"The border!" Cried the soldier. "Sandwings! Rainwings! Nightwings! All of them!"

"All of them? That's not - that shouldn't be possible. You there! Find me Auklet right now!" North shouted to a seawing half-submerged in the water. The seawing twirled around and dove into the ocean.

Hah. There was something amusing about seeing the icewing prince scrabble and panic. _Get a taste of your own medicine._

"Do you know about this?" North asked Mist.

Mist shook her head but North wasn't convinced.

"You," Gelid's blood ran colder. She forgot North still thought she was under his spell.

Mist stepped aside and out of North's way when he confronted Gelid. "Tell me exactly what you know about this."

Gelid stayed still, trying not to look at Mist or North.

"Tell me right now! Ack, glaciers! Why isn't this working?" North grabbed her talon. The talon with the fake bracelet around her wrist. "What? This isn't-"

Gelid swiped her talon across his face and he shrieked, letting go of Gelid's talon. She tugged on Mist's wing. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Gelid lifted into the air, beating her wings as fast as she could closer to the mainland. Mist followed behind her.

"You promised me, Mist! You promised me!" North roared.

Gelid looked back at him. He had four bleeding blue lines next to his eyes that cut his upper lip. She did that. Revenge: successful.

"YOU PROMISED ME!" His voice trembled the skies, even as he grew into a smaller dragon from the distance. "No! Get back here! We have a battle to prepare for!" His voice trailed off.

The sky fell quiet as soon as she lost sight of the beach. For once, Mist looked as silent as she was. That probably had something to do with Gelid attacking her father. She slowed down, flying beside Mist instead of leading the way.

"Sorry," Gelid said to Mist.

Mist observed the horizon. "Don't. Don't be. He - he deserved it."

 _This was the battle Sunseer warned us about. The Battle of the Turning Tides._

 _I hope we win._

 _But what happens after? Who will die? Who will live?_

 _Guess I'm going to find out._


	13. Chapter 12

"Ice lickers!" Mist suddenly dove down like a storm of hail at the encampment of yellow dragons.

Gelid spotted the camp first, though mainly spotting the sandwings glow by the fire torches they placed down. Rainwings and nightwings intermingled with them, forming an army of black, gold and speckled rainbow colours. And there were so many of them.

She never quite fathomed how many soldiers there were in every kingdom, and it was slightly overwhelming that there were so many. This was only half of each army too. She wondered how much forest they'd need to clear to have enough space for all the soldiers. The icewings haven't arrived yet, even as it seemed this army could conquer all of Pyrrhia.

With soldiers, there came their commanders and generals too. Already, she heard loud voices order the soldiers around.

Gelid followed Mist down to a section of the camp being cleared with fire, teeth and talons. Mist called out to two of the dragons and one immediately looked back.

"Hi-ya, Mist," Amber said with a smile. She nudged Torrid next to her with her wing. "Look who made it," she said to Torrid.

"You're safe. This is good news," Torrid said. He ran a claw over his neck, clearing wood splinters and leaves from his scales.

Gelid landed on the ground next to Mist, immediately appreciating the mushier ground that her sand-beached talons ached from.

"What are you two doing here?" Mist beseeched loudly.

"Well, incoming fascinating story," Amber spurred. "I'm going to start at the beginning. We, and by we, I mean Torrid and I, were exploring the lower caves because I _totally_ heard somewhere that there was a creepy dragon ghost down there somewhere."

"Not a ghost. A very depressed and old animus dragon," Gelid clarified. She met the dark paralysed dragon once when Lava introduced him. "He's very nice."

Amber nodded eagerly. "Right! He's an animus!" She poked Torrid. "That's explains so much!"

"That's cool," Torrid commented. "I've never met an animus before."

Mist exhaled heavily. "Please continue."

"Right. Right," Amber said. "So we were exploring and we totally got lost because the underground caves are HUGE and very confusing. Torrid had to basically drag my tail to the entrance because I thought he was going the wrong way. Thank goodness I didn't sting him because I'd TOTALLY do that."

"You would?" Torrid asked. He glanced at her tail that curled safely behind Amber's hind feet.

"Probably," Amber grinned.

Mist grumbled.

"Anyway, we were really late. Like it was basically dark and rainy and I was yelling at Torrid when he basically slapped me because there was a seawing dragon right next to us with the weirdest face."

"He had a weird face, like this." Torrid contorted his face into an over exaggerated look of surprise and worry.

Gelid couldn't help but giggle. His face was ridiculous.

"Torrid knocked that seawing off the side of the mountain and then we saw everyone LEAVE. Like AWAY and I was so confused. Then there were these other seawings that started yelling at us. Torrid and I just flew the moons out of there because MOONS NO I am not getting slapped by a seawing tail. I heard those things really hurt," Amber said.

"Then you went to Queen Thorn's Stronghold," Gelid finalised, remembering Glory's words from earlier.

Amber nodded. "I wanted to fly away to literally ANYWHERE ELSE but Torrid was like 'Shouldn't we tell someone?' And I was like 'That's a good idea' So we went to tell Hyena because he's pretty smart and I was sure he'd know what to do. Then he told Thorn about it and the whole place went crazy! Now we're here!"

"That wasn't _all_ I said but mostly what I said." Torrid slowly clapped. "Excellent story telling."

Amber huffed, looking proud of herself and brushed a talon down her neck, looking at her claws afterwards. "I know. I know."

"You going to tell your dragonet that when they can't sleep at night?" Torrid asked her.

"You know what? I just might."

Gelid couldn't imagine Amber settling down with another dragon. She couldn't imagine Amber settling down at all. That dragon was a bunch of rainwing dragonets stuffed into a dragon-shaped pile of yellow scales.

"Well, at least you were mostly safe. That doesn't explain what you're doing here," Mist said.

"Oh we got bored," Amber said simply. "Hyena said that we could help with making room for the soldiers and we figured it was better than being rolled up the sand somewhere. Which doesn't sound like the worst idea now that I think about it."

"No, this is better," Torrid countered.

"There you go."

Mist watched the crowd of dragon soldiers and even stretched her neck to see above them but to no avail. "Is Thorn here?" She asked Amber.

"Her princess-ling is here." She pointed into the barrage of dragons and then walked into it, leading them to a makeshift platform of branches and leaves.

"Mist!" Queen Firefly bounded towards them across the ground and exchanged hugs with Mist. "Venomous vipers! I'm glad you're safe! Also-"She smacked her tail against Mist's neck-"Stop getting yourself in trouble!"

"Ow. Thanks." Mist stepped back, rubbing her neck.

Behind Queen Firefly was Beetle and Hyena that faced each other in a conversation. Beetle leaned forward, staring over Queen Firefly's wings.

"If it was up to me I'd have you chained up under a mountain somewhere to make sure you stop finding the danger and flying towards it," Queen Firefly said, then smiling.

"Sometimes it just happens," Mist said.

Gelid felt there to be something between Mist and Queen Firefly that was more than a mutual friendship but it wasn't like she was going to ask about it. This was a battle they were preparing for!

"Well, long time no see," Beetle said to Mist with a nimble smile.

"Beetle."

Queen Firefly stepped back and Beetle stepped forward, forming a small circle of royalty.

Of course Mist knew Beetle. If Queen Blizzard's and Queen Thorn's mostly friendly relationship meant anything, it meant that royalty knew royalty.

"Still following Thorn's tail?" Mist asked.

Beetle snorted. "Not for long, how-ever that may sound. I've been getting stronger and better. Who knows? Maybe the desert might be mine soon."

Would Beetle challenge Queen Thorn soon? What sounded likely, judging on the princess's tone.

"I'm sure this discussion can wait, princess," said Hyena. He invited himself into the circle. "Right now we have a battle I intend on winning."

"Maybe we can still reason with them, I mean, it could work," Torrid said.

"These dragons have no capacity to be reasoned with. I've met them personally," Gelid said to him. Torrid shrugged in response, looking as though he wanted to prove her wrong. The idea was a nice thought but she'd rather claw North in the face again rather than talk to him.

"We can be stealthy!" Amber suggested. "If we can sneakily get around and get the queen or who-ever-dragon is the leader than we can totally like, force them to stop the battle."

That was an idea Gelid liked. "That could work." There had been enough bloodshed and loyal soldiers losing their lives in a battle.

"With what? Your dark assassin scales?" Mist asked.

"Totally. I'm the best. I can do it," Amber said.

"I don't really think so," Torrid said.

"To blazes with your ideas! Why are we waiting? We should attack now!" Hyena stamped a talon on the ground, and his tail scrapped along the branches, coiling.

"Queen Blizzard is still on the way," Queen Firefly said to him. "We need the numbers. My scouts estimated a large number of seawing forces."

"And there are prisoners," Gelid said.

"You could send some rainwings to take care of Auklet. That could solve this battle before it starts," Mist said to Queen Firefly.

"That's risky. I don't think any of mine would do that. I could but...storming the beach is the option," the rainforest queen said.

"Did you say prisoners?" Beetle asked Gelid. She nodded. "That changes things," she said to Hyena.

"Mostly sandwings, and we still don't know where the dragonets are either," Gelid added.

"Perhaps we need a more complicated plan than before..." Hyena said, glancing away.

"What plan?" Mist asked.

"Based on what my scouts told me, we planned on storming the beach front with both a ground and air offense," Queen Firefly said. "Nightwings and rainwings swarm around, sandwings on the ground and icewings in the air in case any enemies fly away. But we never planned a rescue operation."

"We need more numbers then," Beetle said. "Maybe we could persuade-"

"I know where you're going and it's a terrible idea," Mist interrupted.

"A terrible idea? What is?" Amber asked.

Amber didn't know but Gelid did. "We're going to talk to Queen Fuchsia, aren't we?" Gelid said solemnly.

"Good of you to volunteer." Queen Blizzard suddenly appeared next to her, looking more majestic and regal than ever.

"Me? I'm just as coherent as a walrus," Gelid said.

"Hm, never heard you say that before," Queen Blizzard said to her. She looked around. "Mist, Firefly, Beetle, Hyena." She nodded to them. "Perhaps I can send some of my icewings to talk to Queen Fuchsia."

"Send me instead," Mist offered to Queen Blizzard.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

Mist nodded. "I'm fast and I know the way. Maybe I might even beat some sense into Fuchsia."

"I hope not literally," Queen Firefly said to her. "We still need her soldiers."

"Of course not literally, even if I really want to," Mist said.

"Mist! That's Queen Fuchsia you're talking about. You might be fast and strong but not against an entire kingdom of skywings," Gelid said to her. _We don't need more conflict between the tribes,_ she thought.

"I'm not fighting them! I don't know what hard-shelled brain you have to not get that through but I'm trying to be persuasive. I'm sure I can attempt to reason with her before someone says I can't," Mist said, then muttering. "Which is most likely."

"Well you're not going alone," Gelid said, unsure why she proposed to fly with Mist. Maybe Gelid felt bad about calling Mist names all that time back. Or attacking North. Or just being an unfriendly dragon to begin with.

"Really? You?" Her brow lifted. "Well, maybe you might do a better job as _my_ bodyguard, not that I need it."

"We're coming too!" Amber intruded into the conversation after a full minute of being quiet.

"Absolutely not."

"You're staying here." Mist and Hyena said at the same time.

"Why not?" Amber asked them.

"Because two dragons are enough," Mist replied.

"But - um." Amber looked around, then poked Torrid. "Look! Torrid really wants to go! Tell them why you want to go."

Torrid took a step forward, looking uncomfortable with a low neck. "Um, well, I do want to go but you said not to," he said to Mist. "But you know, I'm OK with that. I just - I've always wanted to go to the sky kingdom. Half of me is from there...somewhere."

" _Seeeeee_?" Amber said.

"I don't see how you can say no to that," Queen Firefly said to Mist.

Mist sighed, flicking her wings back. "Fine. Don't get your tail in a knot. Let's go and get this over with." She whirled around and stepped away, then lifting off into the air.

Gelid was about to lift off and follow but then Queen Blizzard spread her wing in the way, stopping her.

"I know it doesn't seem like Mist needs company but having someone around her really puts her in a better mood," Queen Blizzard said.

"It wasn't my immediate attention but..." Gelid could never picture Mist openly conveying her appraise for having other dragons around. Sure she might've believed it, working on what she knew about the princess already. Still, it was a bleak chance.

"Trust me, she appreciates you. Just protect her for me. OK?"

"Yes, your majesty," Gelid promised. "Speaking of it, when this is over, I need to talk about something with you," she said to Queen Blizzard.

Her queen nodded. "Very well." She folded her wing back, allowing Gelid to lift off into the air behind Amber.

* * *

The two glowing moons and an emerging crescent trapped them under the night sky. Glowing, of course. Gelid saw the dragons much more clearly under the 'luminescent' moons, as soon as she found out what that word meant.

Above, the moonlight shone right through Amber's wings, showing bursts of white dots - especially along the end of her wing membranes that Gelid never saw before.

Torrid was the only dragon Gelid couldn't see properly. Only his shape was outlined.

They were flying over the Diamond Spray River. The winding river path was easier to follow and Gelid guessed that was how Mist knew her way to the sky kingdom. Though, following the coast would've been easier to follow in her opinion.

They even passed over Seamarch, which was a coastal addition to the town of Sanctuary. Though, from what Gelid already heard about Seamarch, it was basically its own town already.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Amber suddenly asked.

"No," Torrid said.

"Eh? Going to the sky kingdom full of dragons that we once had an encounter with. Eh? Ringing any gongs?" She teased.

Torrid sighed. "No! Not that story. That was the worse thing in Pyrrhia."

"What story?" Gelid finally asked.

"Oh good moons," Mist vexed. "Don't you dare." Now Gelid wanted to hear the story even more.

"It was a few months ago-" Amber started.

"Don't make me knock you out of the sky," Mist said.

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"

Mist fell back and shot towards Amber. Amber pulled her wings close and twisted above Torrid, falling and finding a spot to fly next to Gelid.

Amber snickered. "So let me tell you this fine blazing story," she started to say as though nothing happened a few moments before. "So there was this one day and I remember it well, and believe me, I have a great memory."

Torrid snorted but he was far enough that Amber didn't hear him.

"I was at home, you know, just clearing a bit of sand out the front, right, and the next thing I hear thunder but it wasn't cloudy so I was like 'whoa, what's that sound?' The next thing I see Torrid flying like a tornado and this massive and I mean, _massive_ skywing following him.

"And Torrid was screaming all the moons away and I was standing there, laughing my tail off because I have never seen anything like that before. And I think: 'whelp, Torrid's gonna die and I'm probably next so I might as well laugh' so that's what I did. The next thing and I see Mist literally come out of nowhere and go _BAM_! Into that skywing. I watched the whole thing. She full on knocked that skywing out of the sky, rip his wing off and snap his neck."

"Gross," Torrid commented.

"It was really, really gross but also the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Gelid took a glance at Mist and was sure that the princess was fighting the urge to smile. She probably hadn't have gotten many compliments or thought of highly by any dragon other than Queen Blizzard.

"And that was the day I decreed to myself that being around Mist meant I get to see the craziest and awesomest stuff happen," Amber said. "I mean we kinda locked up Hyena too and that wasn't the best thing in the world but I did throw a rattlesnake in his cell for fun."

Gelid felt like there was something other than "being around Mist meant crazy things happen" as a reason to follow her around. Maybe they felt safer around Mist? Or they admired her so much; they needlessly bothered and annoyed her.

"It was _you_ that put that thing in there!" Torrid said. "You know how long it took me to get that out?"

"Yeah, like an entire day," Amber said.

"That wasn't funny, Amber! I almost got bit more than a hundred times."

"Next time you do that, I'm going to throw an orca at you," Mist warned.

"Please do," Torrid agreed, nodding his head at her.

"Now THAT is something I definitely want to see," Amber laughed. "Seriously, though, best fun ever. We got to blow up the rainforest. I got to be an awesome stealth dragon."

"Don't forget that time you stole some of Thorn's tea and she yelled at you," Torrid said.

"Oh yeah."

"You stole her tea?" Mist asked, enthralled with confusion.

"I just wanted to try it!" Amber defended. "She wasn't letting me have any so I just got some when I thought she was sleeping. Turns out, she wasn't sleeping."

"What a surprise," Gelid said.

"It was totally worth it, though. That tea was amazing."

Glowing against the moonlight were the tall mountain peaks now speeding past them as they flew over. There were white stone towers that littered the sides of some mountains that she was able to spot. It looked as if dragons inhabited those towers as she was able to make out flickering light from the towers.

"Hey! What are you doing up there!" Shouted a voice.

Gelid immediately stopped and beat her wings in one place, as did the others. Below, there was a small pack of large winged dragons flying towards them. Skywings.

If skywings were there then how much further was it until reaching Queen Fuchsia's palace? She hoped it wouldn't be long otherwise the battle would've started without them.

The skywing that shouted at them earlier flew up in front of them, but pointed his spear downwards. "What are you doing here?" He asked the closest dragon, which was Mist.

The other dragons darted up above them and circled.

The longer Gelid peered at the closest skywing, the more she was able to make out the skywing's golden and peachy scales with red wings.

"We need to speak to Queen Fuchsia this instant," Mist said to him.

"Her majesty isn't accepting communication from the other tribes presently. I have to refuse your entry into the sky kingdom. Turn back around," said the skywing.

"I'm not flying back. I am Princess Mist of the icewings. I demand an audience with Queen Fuchsia," she insisted, trying not to hiss.

"I have my orders and that is to make sure other dragons don't enter out kingdom. I'm sorry."

Then Gelid remembered something. "We know the whereabouts of King Sanguine. I think Queen Fuchsia would want to know this."

"You do? Splendid! Her majesty has been crawling to know about him. I'll bring you to her. Follow me!" The skywing turned around and flew.

Mist gave one approving and casual glance at Gelid and then dove at the skywing, following.

The palace was a short fly from there and Gelid welcomed the sight of clarity and light again. A clear cut mouth in the mountain invited them into the palace carved inside the mountain.

The skywing they first met led them inside with Gelid following Mist closely and the pair of sandwings behind. Even she was sure Mist never needed protection against other dragons. Mist's stare was enough to scare away anyone brave enough to raise their voice but Gelid had to be sure.

The skywing led them into a marble throne room with a single silver throne. Silver decorated the walls in lines and patterns, and the metal glowed in the fire light. To the wall behind the throne was a giant hole that opened a view to the mountains and the night sky. An odd feature to have when there was possible danger to important dragons. Gelid wondered if Queen Fuchsia made that.

An orange tail curled around the throne, alerting her that a dragon laid atop. Queen Fuchsia.

The queen of the skywings turned her head from what looked to be previously drooping, either out of boredom or depression. Gelid wasn't sure which one.

Queen Fuchsia stared at them, blinking and then spiked her head up. "Shrike, I thought I said for no foreign dragons to enter my kingdom. What part of that did you not understand?" She said to their skywing guide.

Shrike bowed lightly. "I'm sorry, your majesty." He extended a wing, pointing at them. "But these dragons-"

The orange and pink dragon waved her talon at him. "Leave please." She turned her head at them. "Now listen here, dragons-"

"No. _You listen to me_ ," Mist stipulated strongly.

Queen Fuchsia looked surprised at the sudden ferocity.

"Your neighbouring kingdom shelters the Talons of Power and you're going to convince every other kingdom that you had no idea?" Mist proposed.

"Well I - I never! That is preposterous! Who are you anyway - oh. No. I know who you are. You're Queen Blizzard's niece aren't you?" Queen Fuchsia asked.

"That's right."

"What's this 'my neighbouring kingdom houses the Talons of Power'? I'm neighbours with almost all the kingdoms. You're going to have to be more specific."

"She has a point," Torrid said.

Mist rolled her eyes. "The sea kingdom. They have an entire base of operations there."

"OK...Is there a point to why you're telling me this?" Queen Fuchsia asked.

"What? How - how - what kind of wind brain do you have? Have you not listened to me? Do you not gave a living tail to the fact that the continent's biggest enemy was right next to you and you had no idea?" Mist vented.

"No I did not."

Gelid watched Mist's scales turn red and black, and it was honestly the worst thing she'd ever seen.

Gelid poked her shoulder and Mist hissed at her. "You're not going anywhere talking to her like that," she whispered to Mist.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas," Mist said.

She nodded, then turning towards Queen Fuchsia. "Your majesty. What Mist was trying to get at was that the Talons are responsible for kidnapping your husband, King Sanguine."

That got Queen Fuchsia's attention. The skywing queen leapt from her throne, looking as though she was about to grab Gelid and shake more information out of her.

"What? Where? How do you know this? Is he all right?" Queen Fuchsia asked quickly.

"We saw him. He's alive."

The skywing queen exhaled heavily. "Thank the moons."

"I don't know about this, your queenliness," Amber prompted. "But there's totally going to be this ginormous battle. All the kingdoms are getting involved to fight."

"Yeah, and we need your help," Torrid added.

"My help? Er - yes! I can help!" Queen Fuchsia pointed to a nearby red and pink skywing guard. "Get me General Gale right now!"

The skywing squeezed past Gelid, their steps disappearing into the hallways behind her.

"Tell me what we're dealing with," Queen Fuchsia said.

"The Talons of Power mainly consist of seawings, otherwise any dragons attacking our own soldiers can be assumed to be apart of them as well," Mist said.

"They're being lead by Queen Auklet and an icewing named North," Gelid added. She noticed Mist prod her talons at the end of her sentence.

"Don't forgot the armies," Torrid said.

Mist nodded at him. "Firefly, Blizzard and Beetle are leading their armies," she said to Queen Fuchsia.

"My skywings could've dealt with this. Why the big army?" Queen Fuchsia asked.

"We need the distraction," Gelid said. "If we can get the Talons distracted with the fighting then we can rescue the prisoners, including King Sanguine."

"Ooo! I like this plan! I'll inform General Gale immediately," Queen Fuchsia said. "Thank you for coming to me. My general will meet you - um, where exactly is this?"

"Do you have a map?" Gelid asked.

"Yes!" She pointed up. Above, plastered across the ceiling was a complete map of Pyrrhia. She saw every single one of the kingdoms and the palaces, the towns and the borders. Except Queen Blizzard's palace was a little off and closer to the coast than where it was supposed to be. Neither of the three outer palaces were there either, not that it would've have been much use to tell other tribes.

Mist walked to a spot under the map where the camp was and pointed up. "Here. A little north from the scavenger den. That's where you'll find us."

Queen Fuchsia eyed the ceiling, nodding. "Excellent! Excellent! General Gale will meet you out there as soon as the soldiers have been rallied," She said.

"Boohoo! You're not coming along," Amber teased.

"Uh, no. I'd rather not," Queen Fuchsia said to her.

A large red skywing walked past Gelid an she didn't notice him until he greeted Queen Fuchsia.

"I've been told something of great importance is happening," said the skywing that Gelid assumed to be General Gale. He stood next to her throne, looking as though he'd rather be asleep.

"Indeed, these dragons have found my love..."

Mist walked back to Gelid. "Well, there's nothing else left to do other than fight."

"I wish we didn't have to, but we do," Gelid said.

"Can I sit this one out?" Torrid asked. "I'm not very keen...on fighting, that is. I just - it's just so..."

"Primitive?" Gelid offered.

"I'd say inefficient," he said. "Why can't we just talk this all out?"

"If it was that simple then I would've done that a long time ago," Mist said. "Face it. We've evolved to fight."

"I know, I know. Just...never mind," he said, defeated.

"Same. I'm not a seasoned warrior or whatever you two are." Amber pointed at them.

"So go back to the Stronghold and wait for whatever happens next," Gelid said.

"Yeah, that's probably the best option," Torrid agreed.

Amber suddenly swatted her wing over Torrid, whacking his tail. "Tag! Beat you to the Stronghold!" She bolted, turning and ran down the hallway.

"No you won't!" Torrid followed after her, and they both disappeared.

Gelid breathed, finally feeling tension in her claws and she started walking back to the way in to settle herself.

Mist came up beside her. "You ready?"

"For this battle? Crashing glaciers no. Nor anything else but it's something I - we have to do," Gelid replied.

"Whatever happens next, it will be an honour fighting with you," Mist said.

She had to appreciate those words - she would've said the same thing if her talons weren't shaking. She'd never been in a real, fleshed battle involving massive numbers of dragons. It never occurred to her before that she might die tonight. Or Mist could. Or Pale. Or Queen Blizzard.

Something unexpected could happen that could turn the battle towards the Talons of Power' favour. North could enchant something to make all disloyal dragons obey him. Though, North seemed too simple-minded to do that, even if he did it to her.

Gelid and Mist left the sky palace and flew back to the soldier camp as fast as they could. Soon they found that all the torches had been put out and all the soldiers were gone.

The night was late, yet also early as Gelid felt that the Sun would rise soon.

"Have they started the battle already?" Gelid asked to Mist that flew beside her.

"That's uncoordinated. Blizzard and Firefly wouldn't have allowed that but they could've been forced to, that's if they decided the best time to strike was when they did," Mist analysed.

They did a double take circling the camp in case there were any messengers waiting for them but there weren't any. Then Gelid saw blurry coloured shapes closer to the Talons base.

"There! They must've started! Come on!" She beckoned Mist, then racing towards the shapes. She recognised Pale and Queen Blizzard immediately and called out to them.

"Gelid! I thought something might've happened to you two!" Pale said. "Weren't there two other dragons with you?"

"They decided not to fight," Gelid said.

"I would've called them cowards it's probably for the best that they're not here," Mist added. "Besides, the skywings will be joining us soon."

"Ah, I see," Pale said.

"I'd say the same for you, not the best to be fighting, that is," Queen Blizzard said to Mist.

"What? No way! I haven't stretched my talons out in ages. This is a battle that needs me as much as I need it."

"As you wish," Queen Blizzard said.

"Well then, General, care to lead the way?" Pale offered.

Mist roared, surged with energy and ice. "I sure do!"

"Wait! What about the prisoners? We need to rescue them when the Talons are all distracted," Gelid said, then turning to Mist. "Mist?"

"You can do that," Mist said.

"Well I can't do it alone!"

"I think I can help with that," Queen Blizzard said.

"No, your majesty, I didn't mean-" Gelid thought she meant that she'd be joining Gelid in the rescue operation instead of leading the soldiers, but then she called out to someone.

"Princess Beetle!" Queen Blizzard shouted, then dove at the pale yellow shapes on the sandy coast below. Gelid followed.

"You're back. I take that you have news?" Beetle asked Gelid.

"Yes, Queen Fuchsia will be joining us, given some time," Gelid answered to her. Beetle nodded.

"We need some of your sandwings to join Gelid here in saving the prisoners while the battle ensures," Queen Blizzard said to Beetle.

"Well, let's see." Beetle looked at the sandwings beside her. "Hyena's already leading two squadrons, so...you five." She pointed at the five sandwings, then at Gelid. "Assist this icewing. My orders: follow her command."

They all nodded.

Queen Blizzard nudged her. "You're a commander now. Congratulations."

"Is that legitimate?" Gelid asked her. "Seriously?"

"If that's what you want to be."

"Thank you, your majesty. I won't let you down," she said. A commander! She was a commander! Just like she wanted to be...but also, not what she wanted to be. Being a commander meant spending more time with soldiers, in the ice kingdom, where she'd be far away from the rainforest and Swan. "Oh," she muttered at the realisation.

"You never disappoint. Go!" Queen Blizzard smiled at her, approving.

Gelid lifted into the air, glancing at the five sandwings lifting behind her, and she smiled to herself.

In the distance, seawings were fighting sandwings and black shapes darted across the sky that she assumed to be nightwings and rainwings. So she turned closer to the other side of the bay and closer to the edges of Pyrrhia to avoid the soldiers.

A sandwing flew below her and glanced at Gelid. She had incredibly pale sandy scales and looked compact and muscly, yet also skinny.

"What's the go, commander icewing?" Said the pale sandwing. Her tone was astoundingly casual, as if this was a battle like every other day.

"There's a prison filled with sandwings at the end of the peninsula. We need to save them," Gelid said to her.

"Coolio. Thanks for caring about our tribe. Pyrrhia needs more dragons like yourself," said the sandwing.

"Trust me, if that was true then Pyrrhia would be incredibly boring."

"I'd say the same about myself, truly. Name's Puncture but everyone calls me Turry," Turry said.

"I'm Gelid," she introduced. What she really wanted to ask was how in the blazes any dragon got 'Turry' from 'Puncture'.

"So how we gonna break this egg?" Turry asked.

"Um, we're not breaking any eggs," she replied, questioning whether Turry broke dragonet eggs out of fun. How cynical.

"I meant the prison you tumbleweed."

"Oh," Gelid said, flustered. Turry so reminded her of Mist but in a friendlier way. "There's a guard outside that has a key to the prison, we need to get that first, free all the prisoners and get them away as fast as possible."

"Couldn't have laid it out better than that," Turry said.

Closer inward to the bay, she spotted dragons fighting each other with talons and teeth, and she wondered how many of those dragons she would've recognised.

Against the dark blue sea and the sand, Gelid spotted the hut that she remembered staying the entire night in earlier. She wondered if she could order the sandwings to light it up in a bonfire but that would've been a waste. Clearly there were more important things, like saving dragons.

The seawing guard from earlier that day - or was it yesterday, judging by the course of the moon? Anyway, the same seawing guard that Mist intimidated was there, standing as a lonely obstacle in their way, and he immediately jolted his neck at them, squinting. Perhaps he was just wondering if they were his reinforcements or enemies - and Gelid was sure which one of those options she was.

"Give us the key!" Gelid yelled at him.

The seawing yelped, dropping the spear and immediately took the air, flying the in the opposite direction of the battle.

"We can't let that seawing get away! He has the key we need!" She commanded the sandwings. She sped up to him, then reminded herself of that grey seawing she murdered not long ago.

 _I need to do this. I need that key. I don't have to kill him_ , Gelid thought. _I'm in control of myself this time._

With a strong beat of her wings, she lifted up and then dove down, closer to the sea, lifting up again and crashing into the seawing above her. She swiped at him, aiming for the necklace of keys around his neck. He kicked her snout in a rush to get away.

Gelid grabbed his hind talon and pulled him, digging her claws into his scales. The seawing shrieked in a way that hurt her ears.

"Give me those keys!" Gelid shouted.

"Get away from me!" Harrowed the seawing, attempting to kick her again while also flying away.

"Where are those blasted sandwings!"

"Right here!" Turry came out of nowhere and flew across her line of sight in a flash.

The seawing screamed and red bleeding streaks suddenly appeared across the his neck. Then he fell, forcing Gelid to let go of him before they both fell into the ocean.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Gelid watched as the seawing's body plummeted into the ocean and sunk in a cloud of red water.

Turry circled around to meet Gelid beating her wings over the ocean. "Too late," she said. "But I did get this." She showed the chain necklace dappled with keys.

"You golden penguin!" Gelid praised, finally catching her breath. "Let's go and free the prisoners."

"Rightio, swiftwings."

Gelid made her way back to the prison and waited at the door. Turry dumped the keys into her talons and Gelid searched through them, remembering that there was a certain key that opened the prison door. There, a key with the handle of a folded dragon wing. She picked it out meticulously with her talon and then pushed it into the keyhole, turning it and waiting for the click.

 _CLICK_.

Gelid flattened her talons on the door and pushed the doors opened. She stormed down the cells to the end where she stood in front of King Sanguine's cell.

"My, there are a lot of sandwings in here," Turry said, then leaning closer to Gelid, watching as she tried each key to open the cell door.

A flat copper key opened the cell door. Gelid pushed it open and carefully stepped towards King Sanguine.

"I told you we'd get you out of here." _And I promised Queen Fuchsia that you'd be saved_.

King Sanuine nodded eagerly and then pulled his chained snout as far away from the wall and closer to her as it allowed. A lock snapped the chains together and Gelid had to search through the keys all over again to find the right one to open the lock. Eventually she found the right one, undid the lock and unwrapped the chains.

"Here." She snapped the copper key from the chain and gave it to Turry. "Free the others."

"Yes, yes. Will do," Turry said, then hurrying off.

"A thousand sunny days for you, icewing. I didn't you'd do it but you did! I will always be in debt to you for saving my life," King Sanguine said. He rose to his feet, looking big and impressionable, and he stretched out each of his talons.

"I've done what any other dragon would've, apart from the kind that put you in here, of course," Gelid said to him, then stepping out of the cell as King Sanguine stretched his wings out. Skywings had huge wings last she checked and his were no different.

A more golden sandwing ran up to her. "Commander, some of these dragons have their snouts tied up."

Gelid snapped the same key she used to free King Sanguine from the chain. "Use this." She handed it to him.

Since there was only one of every key, opening each cell door and freeing each dragon was time consuming. What Gelid really wanted to do was smash each one down - or do what Mist did and freeze the metal to smash it, but she then remembered that she could possibly hit a dragon, creating more problems than the solution she already thought of.

It was time consuming and the hazy smoke that gathered in the prison made Gelid cough her lungs out. So she stepped outside and sat lingered by the opened door of the prison, breathing in the clear air and standing guard in the orange fire light at the same time.

In the distance, she was able to make out shapes of dragons still fighting. How long had the battle gone for already? How many dragons were dead? Who was winning? Were Queen Blizzard and Pale and Mist alright?

So many questions that she wanted answered but couldn't. She had her job here and she wasn't going to abandon it!

Wanting to inspect the work done so far, Gelid stood up and turned towards the entrance of the prison, only to meet the blue eyes of another dragon.

Gelid yelped, jumping back. "Swan!" She collected herself, then wondering how long he'd been there.

"Hello," he smiled, almost laughing. She was able to pick up the gentle white hue of his scales against the orange light that came from within the prison.

"Don't do that. I could've killed you," she said.

"Well when you put it that way." Swan shrugged.

Turry came outside, opening her mouth to speak to Gelid but then took a stern look at Swan. "What in the blazes - who - what - where - never mind." She turned to Gelid. "I came to tell you that we're almost done."

"Good. We'll get them out of here as quickly as possible. Can they all fly?" Gelid asked her.

"They should be able to. They're surprisingly quite healthy for a bunch of imprisoned dragons. I've talked to a few and some say they'd been there for years. Years!" Turry explained.

"That's awful. Perhaps I should take a look at them before they take off," Swan said.

"Thank you Swan but we don't have the time. We're wasting precious moments just getting all the dragons out. There's a lot of them and we need to get them all out before the Talons find out," Gelid said to him.

"Did you rescue the dragonets already? That was quick," Swan said.

"The dragonets! I forgot about them!" Gelid exclaimed. How could she forget about them? "I don't even know where they are!"

"Dragonets?" Turry asked anxiously.

"I know where they are," Swan said. "I went scouting for them earlier and found them a little further away from here. That was a while ago though, so I thought you must've got to them already."

Suddenly her plan cracked in half. There wasn't enough dragons to rescue both the adults and dragonets, yet it wasn't like Gelid could've stopped the battle and asked for more dragons to help her.

Gelid breathed heavily, putting a talon on her forehead to stop the encroaching headache.

Swan shuffled closer to her, brushing his wing against hers and leaned over, and she felt the warmth from his body. "Everything OK?" He asked.

"No! This is the first time I've done this kind of thing and it's already falling like an avalanche!" Gelid said.

"'I wouldn't say that," Turry said. "The prisoners are fine and we'll get them out."

Gelid smiled at Turry, feeling feathers in her stomach. "OK. OK. We'll just have to split up then. Turry, you can come with me, and Swan." She looked at him. "Can you show us where the dragonets are?"

"Of course," he said.

"What should I tell these sandwings to do?" Turry asked.

"Tell them that once they free the prisoners, take them straight to Seamarch. It's just east of Sanctuary. Get them to the doctors, they'll understand," Gelid said to Turry.

Turry nodded and ducked back into the prison.

"Are you alright?" She asked Swan.

"Are you?"

"Better, now that you're here."

"Ah, mutual feelings. Aren't they adorable," Swan said.

Gelid felt unsure what he meant by that but kept silent, choosing to enjoy his close company while it lasted.

Turry returned to them. "Okee dokee, I told them to head to Seamarch. My friend knows the way. They should be fine."

Gelid nodded at her. "Alright, Swan, lead the way."

Swan lifted into the air and they followed. Turry flew in close to Gelid.

"Do you think that we can do this, as in just the three of us?" Turry asked her.

"Any guards stationed must've been called off just as the battle began."

"I saw one guard earlier but he flew off. At first I though he spotted me just as I was flying off, but the battle part makes sense," Swan added.

"Well I guess that's good enough for me," Turry said.

Gelid looked to the horizon, seeing stars starting to fade at the arrival of a new day - or at least, an incredibly faint golden line against the sea. Obstructing the clean ocean view was an abundantly larger island. They flew over it, and countlessly, Gelid expected Swan to suddenly fly down, saying that he found the dragonets there, but he didn't.

That was when another, much smaller island manifested with golden light spewing from a torch, sending rays to the sand. The torch indicated the entrance of a cave mouth restricted by iron bars from the ceiling to the sand.

Like Swan mentioned, there were no guards, only the somber silence of gentle waves running up the beach.

Her talons sunk into the sand behind Swan, then she heard a whimper and tiny chatter follow after. Turry landed shortly after.

"Shh," Gelid said to Turry, then listening for the chatter again and walked closer to the mouth.

Swan stepped silently, then squeezed half his snout through the bars.

A little rainwing dragonet with lime green scales shakingly came into view, holding a pink fire berry as the only source of light inside.

"Hey, little one," Swan said softly. "It's OK. We're here to get you out. How many are with you?"

A slightly older skywing dragonet sauntered up the green rainwing and curled a wing over him. "He can't count," said the skywing. "I can. There are a few of us."

Gelid grabbed the bars, pulling them and trying to yank them out of the sand. Then she tried shaking the bars loose out of whatever kept them in place but to no avail. The bars were fixed.

"Turry, can you melt the bars?" She asked her.

"I can try," Turry responded.

"Stay clear of the bars, little ones. We're going to melt them to get you all out," Swan said, then stepping back.

Gelid stepped back too, allowing Turry to take over.

The sandwing tapped the bars. "Yes, I think I can do this - not that I've ever really done this before but I mean, my mother is a blacksmith so this shouldn't any more difficult than melting metal ore," she examined.

Turry leaned her neck back, opening her mouth in the build up of orange fire that coaxed heat.

Gelid had never seen fire spurted up close like this before, not that she really planned to either but it was an interesting observation. She was content with having the ability to breathe deadly frost anyway.

Turry spat fire on the bars and the heat turned the metal gooey and glowing white-yellow.

Swan took a step closer to Gelid and she felt his shoulder tense as he accidentally nudged her. Of course he wouldn't be too avid to be around fire.

"Hah! I did it," Turry smiled back at Gelid, showing that the bars dissipated into a molten clump on the ground, surrounded by glass. Gelid didn't know that glass came from sand.

Now that there was a way into the cave big enough for them, Gelid breathed frost on the metal, cooling it so that they could step over it, and they did.

Inside, the all the dragonets of different tribes - except the seawings - were gathered the other end of the cave out of view from the bars. Though, it wasn't as bad as Gelid expected.

Half the cave floor was fitted with wood planks. There were two troughs with food, and water against the dry cave wall, and there was a batch of fire berries in a barrel that looked as if any dragon could pick up. Perhaps Queen Auklet didn't want to gradually see them in a bad shape like the adults were.

"Great, now we have to get all of them to Seamarch," Gelid said. She was sure they all could fly since she saw them while she was enchanted.

"Uh, does anyone else see that?" Turry asked. She was only halfway into the cave yet stared out into the sky.

"See what?" Gelid asked her.

"Uh, a falling star?"

Gelid went to see out the cave as Turry stepped inside. She searched the air, then spotting a distant white shape falling to the horizon and slowly getting bigger.

No, it wasn't a star. It was a dragon.

It wasn't just any dragon either, as Gelid distinctively recognised him.

It was North and he was coming straight for them.


	14. Chapter 13

"Get the dragonets out to safety!" Gelid said to Swan and Turry, then exited out the cave and spread her wings out with a snowstorm swirling in her stomach. "I'll deal with this!"

"What? Wait!" Swan shouted but it was too late, Gelid already lifted into the air and beat her wings towards North.

North was her problem now. She had the opportunity to kill him earlier. (although, it would've been very gutsy to strike and kill him instead of running her claws over his face like she did) He was still a threat, even without magic, Gelid heard all about his military strategy and how often he defeated his opponent in talon-to-talon combat. (Though, if you asked Gelid, they were probably an over exaggeration because he didn't seem like the smartest dragon at all)

She waited until his wings stretched across the horizon and then she lashed her talons out. He swiveled, punching her stomach and herself to the side. Her tail spikes raked over him and North yelped, pausing for the moment to gaze at the fresh streaks of blue blood running down his hind leg.

"ARRG! Asinine dragon!" He roared.

North darted at her and she twisted over and above him, reaching to scratch over his back but was a talon too far and she missed. He spiraled back around, and she heard him take a deep breath. He was preparing to use frost breath.

Frost breath wasn't inherently dangerous to other icewings, only other dragons as they didn't have cold bodies like icewings did. It did, however, make ice condensate over their scales, locking up their joints and causing temporary paralysis.

She'd never experienced this but from what she heard from other dragons, suddenly falling from the sky wasn't ideal. And the ocean below them wouldn't forgive it at all.

A cold wintry blast headed towards her. Gelid ducked to the side but he anticipated this, following her with his bitter bellowing mouth gaping open. Pressure fell over her back that felt like she had pebbles rolling over her wings.

Gelid felt North's piercing stare as she circled around below him but she was gliding dangerously closer to the water. She tried to pull herself up but her shoulders weren't moving and only her wingtips obeyed.

 _He froze my wings up_ , Gelid thought. _Which was not what I wanted at all._

Turning her tail, she aimed for the island, hoping to make it before she fell into the water.

The sand was within a wing length when cold claws wrapped around her neck and she was yanked forward, thrown to the sand with half her body splashing into the shallow. She grasped for talon hold into the sand but was pushed down with talons on her neck and claws digging into her back.

"I knew you weren't worth a sliver of my magic!" North said.

Prying for a moment to be free, Gelid felt the ice around her wings dissipate. She rolled to the side, smacking him with her wing. North stumbled but then stamped on her wing, then the other and now she was trapped between the sand and facing him in his vile regality.

"Ending you with my own claws will be so much more satisfying then to watch you kill yourself," he snarled.

"What an original idea." _Darkstalker killed his father that way. He enchanted Arctic to kill himself_. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. That wasn't a way she wanted to end. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have a precious queen to appease and a battle to lead and pretend to try to win?"

"Auklet is not my queen. We work together, not for each other," he said. "I want revenge for what you did to my face!" He turned his snout to stare at her with one dark eye next to lines of dry blue blood that she inflicted earlier.

"You have magic, you egg-head! You can heal it!" She protested.

North pinned a talon to her neck. He had the opportunity to kill her, yet he wasn't taking it. "Scars never heal," he hissed. "I want you to know exactly what you've done and how much you've screwed up everything!"

Claws stabbed into her neck and she bit her tongue and closed her eyes as pain flashed and blazed as she felt her blood touch the open air. She wasn't giving into this sadistic dragon, even if he was a prince. He was no prince of hers!

"How did you even find me?" She asked him, trying not to sound like she was choking up.

"A little spell."

"I thought you said I wasn't worth any of your magic."

His jaw tightened and eyes narrowed, as if fighting the urge to kill her this instant. "You're not but this is." She finally shrieked as he ran his claws over her stomach. "And to that pathetic queen of yours. She's going to find me, eventually, like she always does and I will _kill_ her."

She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them back up to found her snout sideways in the sand. There were shapes of many sizes flying away which she easily assumed to be Swan, Turry and the kidnapped dragonets. She was glad to be seeing them escape, even as she dealt with this.

Wait...Swan was tailing back. Was he coming back for her? _Don't come for me, Swan. You'll get hurt._

North seemed to read her eyes and he followed it, then finding the escaping dragons in the sky. He gasped.

Gelid took the opportunity. She dug her claws into the side of his neck and knocked him over with a thunk, freeing herself. Everything felt dizzy as she stood up in a rush. Her sight was a blur and she nearly toppled over to the sand once more. Blue drops dotted the sand below her and that was when she figured out how much she was bleeding.

A tiny squeal came from the cave. Gelid rose her neck to see what it was, blurrily staring at a green object between the mouth of the cave. When her sight cleared, the object was actually a rainwing dragonet holding a yellow fire berry. That must've been why Swan was returning. He must've realised that they were missing one.

"Eeek!" Screamed the dragonet, then turning and ran back into the cave.

"Wait! No! Come back!" Gelid called to him, rushing into the cave after him. The rainwing was at the other end by the time she stepped into the cave. He huddled the fire berry close to his chest, shaking like a penguin shooting from the water. "Hey, it's alright. I won't hurt you." She took a step closer.

The rainwing looked down, looking at her with one eye and he flicked his tail at her.

 _What does that mean?_ Gelid wondered. _Does he mean get away, when I'm clearly trying to help him._

Then he flicked his tail again and she twisted her neck, pivoting to look.

Suddenly half her body met the sand and there was North's freezing eyes looking into hers. He gaped his mouth open, showing his bloody teeth, leaned back and prepared to bite her neck. Gelid smacked his jaw and threw him off, his scales sliding on the wooden cave floor. She rose to her feet and snarled at him, spreading her wings out.

She darted at him, bringing herself to clout at his shoulder and neck. North grabbed her shoulders, digging his claws in. Gelid bit her tongue, this time tasting her own blood. She jerked up, hoping to unlatch his claws but it didn't work. Balancing with her tail, she dug her claws in his shoulders on the way down.

He swung his teeth at her and she narrowly dodged, letting his snout fly past her shoulders and she bit his neck, sinking teeth in. North roared and flung her to the wall with a crack, slinking down. Her claws and teeth slid from his scales, leaving deep blue gashes.

North leaned his shoulder against the wall, brushing his neck with a talon and observing the blue blood.

Gelid could only guess how she looked at that moment - a bloody and bruised icewing in the midst of war.

Swan ducked in, looking disconcerted, especially when he froze like an icewing guard with eyes locked on her.

"Go! Get the dragonet!" Gelid glanced at the rainwing. He was shaking even more so and then it dawned to her that he saw everything. He saw Gelid and North fight and bleed. Sympathy rolled over her and she wished it never happened, not in front of him.

"But you - what..." Swan was lost for words, seeming torn between saving Gelid and the dragonet. That was her guess though.

"Get him!" She urged.

"Such a noble dragon," North commented, watching Swan and the dragonet with piercing eyes. "Enchant-"

Gelid leapt at North, closing his snout with a talon and then two. That was when Swan bounded across the cave, grabbed the dragonet and took one more glance at Gelid struggling to keep North's stupid snout closed. Then he flew off. Safe.

North grabbed her and tossed her backwards. Her claws dug into the wood, stopping herself as her tail hit the wall.

North stepped away from the wall, still glaring at her with those black eyes. "Screw up everything why don't you!"

"Oh yeah?" _I need to keep him here, distracted. The more he's absent from battle, the better. And if I die then maybe it was worth it._ "Why don't you tell me exactly what I've done?"

"You took my daughter away from me!" North uplifted a wood panel, stripping it from the floor and threw it. Gelid twisted out of the way. "Now she'll never love me again!"

"You're the one who was going to use her! You got what you deserved!" Gelid said, feeling blood drip from her teeth and tongue. She started to circle him to anticipate his next move and think of a strategy to take North down. She was on her own now after all.

"Use her? Use _my_ daughter? I was merely showing her her _true_ destiny. Her destiny as the true queen of the icewings! Not that blubber-headed excuse!"

Least Gelid knew where Mist got her insults from.

Edging the wall, her wing knocked into a long, blunt stick. Sparing any attention from it, she watched North and slowly tucked the stick under her wing. She needed to be closer to be able to use it if she wanted to.

Then North suddenly ran at her. Gelid was stuck between jumping to either side when instead, she froze and he head butted her straight on. Her back hit the wall hard and she dropped under him, feeling all too reminiscent of the situation from the beach all over again.

North didn't have the chance to glower down at her. Gelid kicked his hind leg and rolled out from under him, and North fell forward to the sand.

Gelid lifted to her feet and stepped back, feeling her lungs lurch for breaths, as if she was drowning.

"You mean your sister?" Gelid prompted. "Your sister that you grew up with? The one that loved you as a brother?"

North slowly hoisted himself up. "And I admonished every moment of it. That putrid waste of space has no right to the throne-"

"She challenged the previous queen and won! Is that not the Icewing Royal Challenge?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Queen Blizzard had every right to be queen!

North turned towards her and Gelid stepped back more, not quite recovering her breath yet or a way to take him down.

"She succeeded, yes. But her future actions clearly show exactly why she wanted to succeed. She craves power. She bends rules so that she may get what she desires. No tribe deserves a queen like her," North said.

"That's not - you're-" Her mouth remained open, trying to speak. Gelid reminded herself of what Queen Blizzard had done for her.

Queen Blizzard gave a nobody's dragonet attention. How was that fair that the queen herself picked a dragonet down in the lower rankings a chance when there were clearly others that deserved it more? The queen's judgement? Queen Blizzard had the authority to do that.

 _Not to withhold punishment of crimes, though_ , Gelid thought, thinking of Mist's deliberate attack on the Winter-Spring celebrations all that time ago. She let Mist go even though Mist's actions wounded so many dragons, maybe even killed a few. She caused so much havoc.

Her claws dug into the sand, thinking. But what choice did Queen Blizzard have? She was about to lose her only heir.

"And what does that make you?" Gelid asked him. "You just happen not to do either of those things?"

His eye twitched, growing irritated, and he lifted his chin at her. "I am nothing like her," he said firmly. "I love my daughter. I loved my wife. I have magic; I already have all the power I need and nothing more. The only rule I bend is putting family over family. Glorious children over disgraceful siblings. I see a beautiful future where my illustrious daughter is queen and the ice kingdom is prosperous like it should be."

"And then what?" She asked. That got his attention. "She'll have dragonets and then they'll challenge her. She'll die sooner or later. What will you do then?"

North considered carefully. "Then I will honour her death as a true and righteous queen and behold the new one. I honour tradition."

"Tradition is where Mist would challenge Queen Blizzard for the throne instead of being forced into it!"

"Not if I kill Blizzard myself!" North growled with annoyance. He leapt at her, covering the distance between them with ease.

She waited until the last second, then turned herself ever so slightly. She threw her wings out, hitting him. North groaned and stumbled back.

A little trick she learnt from Mist.

Her other wing loosened, dropping the wooden stick. She picked it back up and bit one end of it, creating one sharp side full of splinters, and she spat into the sand.

 _Sorry, Mist, you'll probably hate me forever but it'll be me and no one else at least._

Swallowing her courage, she aimed the makeshift spear at North's heart and launched it. But the spear didn't leave her talons. The prince's cold eyes stared at her from the other end and Gelid froze, realising that he had caught the spear with both his talons.

He pulled it, taking it away from her talons and then swung it, hitting her head and she blacked out. His chuckle echoed the cave and was abruptly cut off by a loud thud and the ringing in her ears.

Everything hurt, as if suddenly her jaw and shoulders dislocated and she was being dragged across hot charcoals. And drowning too, not that that would've made sense but then again, she was fighting an animus. (That hadn't, suspiciously, made any useful spells yet)

Opening her eyes, she found that her head landed on the wooden floor with the dark-brown cave walls blurred and caressing her sight. She slowly lifted herself and then a talon stamped on her tail. When she turned to look, it was North and he watched her with beady eyes that displayed the dark depths of the night sky.

North grinned, opening his mouth as to either bite her or freeze her into a fountain statue.

She scrambled up, trying to pull herself closer to the wall and further away from him but her tail was anchored under his talon.

Just as she expected the worst to happen, something else happened.

"NORTH!" Bellowed a voice.

Queen Blizzard stormed into the cave, taking a look at Gelid and then at North.

"You slithering sand serpent of a stupid idiot!" Queen Blizzard growled, standing firmly and raising her chin at him, showing the edges of her teeth.

"Sister," North said, taking his talon off Gelid's tail and then turning to face Queen Blizzard.

Gelid kicked herself closer to the wall. "No! Your majesty! You need-"

"Silence!" She demanded. "This is my fight. I'm sorry you got mixed up into this."

"Yes, throwing hapless dragonets into the battlefield hoping to solve your problems," North said, lifting a brow.

"I am not a dragonet!" Gelid defended.

North ignored her, instead keeping his eyes on Queen Blizzard. "Pathetic."

"Says you! You abandoned our kingdom and for what? Because you hate me even though I could've never asked for another brother instead of you?" Queen Blizzard asked.

"Well I would've asked for another sister instead of you!" He roared.

He pounced at Queen Blizzard but she swerved to the side, dodging and then pacing backwards, as if she and North just switched spots.

Gelid was certain they started fighting, even as the world started to fade. Everything suddenly moved slowly and her neck drooped closer to the floor, wanting to sleep in the middle of a calamity.

She closed her eyes, hearing the voices.

"You're greedy, sister. Just as I knew, just as I thought when we were growing up," she heard North say.

"I am not! I've done everything I can as queen!"

She tried to tug onto those voices for longer but even they were fading.

That was when she knew she blacked out.

* * *

Gelid regained some level of consciousness later when a putrid stench of blood flooded her nose.

There was an over-encumbering warmth on her head that suddenly moved away as she awoke and she opened her eyes, realising that it was Swan. Her head laid atop both of his front talons.

His neck curled back and he tilted his head at her, his snout slowly forming into some kind of gentle smile. "You're awake," he said. "I was afrai - I thought you were dying.

"Not yet." She moved her head away from his talons, then realising there was some of her blue blood on his scales. She checked the wound on her neck and discovered that the blood had dried out, forming an unmistakable hard scab.

"I'm glad you're not dead yet, I would've missed you," Swan said.

"Yet, as opposed to earlier when -" Her eyes widened, flashing with North's eyes imprinted in her vision. Her heart felt as if it stopped beating for that moment, trapping itself in her throat.

Gelid wanted to get up but the moment she put weight on her hind legs to lift herself up, she fell forward and Swan caught her. He swayed closer, wrapping a wing over her back.

"Easy, easy, please. You're very, _very_ badly hurt," he said, poking her snout with his.

Gelid looked around, welcoming the breaths of orange golden rays into the cave. There were claw marks along the ceiling and they trailed down to the centre of the cave, stopping abruptly, and her eyes followed the drop into the sand. There was a body furthest to the wall.

It was North's body impaled by the wooden spear she made earlier. His snout pointed at her with an expression of both surprise and pain, as though she was the last thing he saw before he was killed by Queen Blizzard.

She saved her.

 _But where is she?_ Gelid thought. There were blood splatters on the sand that Gelid didn't think were hers, so she followed them but Swan's body was in the way and she reach forward, pulling herself until she could see.

At the end of the trail of blood was Queen Blizzard with her back turned to them, but clearly she was covered in scratches, deep gashes, and one of her wings were broken.

Gelid lifted herself up, managing to find strength in her legs and made her way to Queen Blizzard. Repeatedly, Swan tried to pull her back with his wing.

"No - stop, I need to see," she said to him. Eventually he gave up and draggled beside her.

Gelid walked around to meet Queen Blizzard face to face, observing how deeply the queen was breathing and the pool of blood around her.

There was no way Gelid ever envisioned her majestic queen being so hurt, by her own family of all dragons. She never pictured anything bad happening to her queen, not while she was around but clearly, that wasn't the case. She failed but she couldn't muster to blame herself. What was she to do?

North was a bigger dragon than her, had lived for nearly four times as long as her, had animus magic - Gelid never hoped to stop him, only delay him.

Queen Blizzard slowly opened her eyes.

"Gelid, I thought he killed you," Queen Blizzard said. "I tried to save you but I - I couldn't."

"But you did save me, your majesty," Gelid said. She watched as Queen Blizzard tried to reach for her but her talon fell to the sand in defeat, twitching. There was an unmissable slowness to her.

Was Queen Blizzard dying?

"Can you help her?" Gelid asked Swan.

Swan sighed, sounding as though he'd rather not answer and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

"But - no - there has to be something." She looked at Queen Blizzard once more, thinking. There had to way for Gelid to save her queen. Any way.

If only she had magic. If only she had magic instead of North.

"Maybe if we can get you to the doctors. They could save you." Gelid reached for Queen Blizzard's talon, leaning down to pull it over her shoulders but she was too heavy and all Gelid did was roll Queen Blizzard onto her stomach.

Swan pulled Gelid back, making her let go of Queen Blizzard. She hissed at him.

"No, stop! I told you there's nothing anyone can do!" He put a talon in front of her and Gelid brushed it away, breaking free and reaching for Queen Blizzard once more.

"Stop, Gelid," Queen Blizzard said softly through her teeth.

And just like that, Gelid stopped and dug her claws into the sand.

Queen Blizzard rolled back to her side. "He's right," she continued, taking a deep breath. "There's nothing - nothing any dragon can do for me right now."

"But you can't die. You can't!" Gelid protested.

"I wish that was the case but in truth, I was always supposed to die. The irony of being a queen," she gave a short and stout laugh, then choking up and coughing blood all over the sand.

Gelid stepped back.

"Listen, I've always been proud of you. Perhaps you were the daughter I was supposed to have - the rough-headed, determined and eager princess like I was," Queen Blizzard said. "Don't let any dragon tell you otherwise."

"I could never be a princess."

"I was thinking a queen," Swan offered, brushing a wing over hers.

Queen Blizzard snorted. "And you wouldn't make a bad one either. But rules are rules. Now, Gelid, I have one last order for you."

"Last? But you-"

"I'm dying. I can't go on for longer. I thought I could stop North before, but...clearly he was the better fighter," Queen Blizzard said.

Gelid glanced at North's dead body. She spotted his blood-ravaged claws and begun to wonder just how long they were fighting for.

"Understood this for me, please. I'm going to die soon."

Gelid didn't want to. Every scale on her body wanted her to scream that her queen was wrong, that she'd survive but after everything - adding what both she and North had kept saying all this time: That Queen Blizzard would die. Maybe this time, she had to believe it, even if she didn't want to.

"Yes," Gelid finally gave in, closing her eyes as she did, not believing what was happening. "I understand."

"Good. Now, my last order: tell Mist that I'm proud of her and that I've always been proud of her, like you. Tell her that she'll be a fine queen. Tell her that I've always believed in her."

"I will, your majesty," she said.

"I'm not your queen anymore, Gelid, you can stop that," Blizzard said.

"Yes, your maj- uh, yes."

"Good. Very good." Blizzard breathed deeply, closing her eyes, looking as relaxed as ever. "Good indeed."

Gelid waited at that spot, sitting down in a low bow with Swan next to her. She didn't want to leave just as Blizzard was dying. Even if it was in silence. There was that feeling of betrayal if she left her former queen alone to die.

So she waited and waited until Blizzard stopped breathing, until the coldness was Gelid's own scales, until a melancholy weight was dropped on top of her. So she leaned on Swan's shoulder, feeling him furl a wing over her.

"I'm sorry," Swan said.

"It's OK. Maybe - maybe this was supposed to happen."

"I know that she was a good queen, a great one, even. Your kingdom will mourn, I'm sure."

"They will," She said, then standing as soon as she found strength in her legs. "I need to tell them, Mist especially. I have to tell her everything."

"Everything?" Swan said sheepishly, taking a glance at North's body.

"No harm in doing so. Besides, we need a new queen now.

Gelid stepped outside, taking a brisk moment to stand in the sunlight. Finally, she could see the sea, the sand and the sky. She missed it, all of it.

"Are you sure? You're still hurt," Swan said beside her, pointing at her shoulders.

She looked at them. Gashes and dried blood covered her shoulders. "My wings are fine, I can fly." So she spread them and lifted up into the air. Sure enough, flying didn't hurt at all, and she welcoming the crisp air whistle past her scales as they returned to the mainland.

They flew over the beach where Gelid was once enchanted to stamp around, and spotted bodies dotting the sand. Many seemed to be seawings and nightwings, with some of the involved tribes here and there.

It was all North's fault. For what reason Gelid still couldn't figure out but as far as she was concerned, all these dragons could've been alive still and enjoying their life instead of being pulled into a war and forced to fight.

But there didn't seem to be any fighting.

There were dragons walking around, collecting, identifying the dead bodies and writing their names on a list. There were numerous guards around, holding their spears and vigilant, ready for any more conflict.

"Did we win?" Gelid asked Swan that flew beside her. "Has the fighting stopped?"

"It appears that way. I wished it stopped earlier - I wish it didn't start at all. All these dragons...Too many wars, too many battles, too many dead dragons that could've friends."

Gelid had to agree with that. "I wish that too but those dragons in charge didn't care. You saw North. He didn't care what dragons died fighting for him as long as they fought as long as they did. I'm glad he's dead." Even her claws yearned for another moment to scratch North, gouge his eyes out perhaps but then again, she was no match for him.

Swan didn't say anything after so they continued to fly over the beach until Gelid spotted Mist and Hyena on the sand below and carefully descended.

Mist looked up, catching Gelid. "Great moons, what war-zone were you dragged through?" She asked as Gelid landed on the sand opposite her, as did Swan.

"It's a long story." _And not one I want to recount,_ Gelid thought. "What happened?"

"We managed to capture Auklet but the king - Coast disappeared. I sent some dragons to track him down," Mist said, pointing a wing at the sea. "The remaining seawings have surrendered and were put in the Hall to be counted. I think Firefly is taking care of that."

"No thanks to me, I see," Hyena said.

"Oh go eat a dead fig. It was my idea and what dragon managed to save your magical tail twice?" Mist sneered at Hyena.

"I saved your tail four times, clumsy aurora dragon, you clearly haven't passed your perception test which I excelled at."

Mist flicked her tail at Hyena and he leaned back to avoid it.

"As you can see," he added.

Mist sighed, regaining her focus on Gelid. "Beetle was injured so we had to take charge of her sandwing soldiers. The skywing general did a good job to eliminate the seawings attacking her before Beetle was killed so, there's that."

"So what do we do next?" Gelid asked.

Mist shrugged. "List the dead, put the prisoners somewhere, tend to the wounded. Speaking of which, you didn't answer my question."

Gelid quickly felt the eagerness to turn around and fly away. For some reason, she was having difficulty finding the courage to tell Mist what happened even though she shouldn't have.

So she looked to Swan for support. "You said you were going to tell her," he said.

"Tell me what?" Mist questioned.

Gelid sighed. "Queen Blizzard is dead."

" _What?_ " Mist said in serious tone.

"I didn't expect that," Hyena said.

"What do you mean _she's dead_?"

"North killed her. I'm sorry, Mist," Gelid said.

Mist suddenly stood and turned away, taking a few steps before freezing and looking down.

Gelid slowly rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, truly. It should've been me. North was about to kill me when Blizzard fought off North and saved me but...she was gravely injured. There was nothing we could do to save her."

Mist didn't move or say anything for what seemed like an eternity, instead, she stared at the sand. Was she mad at her? Gelid would understand why. Blizzard didn't deserve to die.

Or was she mad at North? Her own father that was responsible for the murder?

Mist exhaled heavily, finally turning around again with her mouth open, prepared to speak but lost of words.

"Her last order was to tell you that she was proud of you and always has been," Gelid said. "And she wanted to tell you that she knew you'd make a fine queen."

Mist's expression turned to shock. "Me? Is she joking? I can't be queen."

"But Mist...you have to," Gelid insisted gently. "There's no one else. You're the only heir."

Mist stepped back. "But I can't! I can't be queen! I - I just can't!"

"Mist, take it from me, honestly, I think you'd be a good queen," she offered. "I know maybe, at first, I would never have pictured you as even a princess but truthfully, you've proven me wrong at every interval of doubt. And if Blizzard believed in you then I should too."

Gelid stepped towards Mist. "You know as well as any dragon that the icewings need you as queen, otherwise our tribe will fall into despair and maladroit." And finally, Gelid bowed deeply at Mist.

It was a genuine bow too, which Gelid never pictured doing at all except to Blizzard but the former queen wouldn't be around anymore. All they had now was Mist and Gelid was sure the ice kingdom would be fine.

"Ack. Stop that. I hate it already," Mist said.

Gelid turned her snout up to observe Mist's expression as she said: "Yes, your majesty."

Mist whacked her with a wing and Gelid laughed.

"And I hate you," Mist said, looking up and then trudging past her and towards Hyena. Gelid followed.

"Given your prowess in battle, I can't see why you wouldn't make a good queen," Hyena said, looking proud with a formidable smile.

"Indeed," Swan agreed. "From what I've heard about you, your majesty, you'd make an impressionable queen."

"Oh stop it. I'm going to rip the tongue out of the next dragon that compliments me," Mist said ferociously.

"The very best queen," Gelid said.

"Brave idiot," Mist scorned at her.

"Aren't they the same thing?" Hyena asked.

"Oh yes, and they describe this snob perfectly." Mist nudged a wing at Gelid.

Gelid held back a laugh, instead, finding Pale flying overhead and soon landing on the sand to join the small group.

"Hey Pale! Greet our new queen!" Gelid invited.

"Oh?" Pale stopped a tail length away from Mist and bowed deeply. "Your majesty," he said.

"Oh great moons," Mist grumbled.

Then Pale spiked his head up. "Wait? Does that mean -"

"Yes, Blizzard is dead," Mist said. "Killed by the talons of North, my father. Still something I don't want to believe."

"We must hold a burial ceremony then," Pale suggested. "And your coronation. I'll go gather the icewings." He then lifted off into the sky, leaving as swift as he arrived.

"I need to get Firefly to help me. Dealing all you dragons is going to drive me insane," Mist said, pivoting around to meet Gelid.

"It hasn't already?" Gelid asked.

"You wish."

Gelid sniggered.

"What will you do now? I heard somewhere that Blizzard made you a commander before she passed. I don't suppose you'll work under me now," Mist said to her.

"Well, you were already higher ranking than me but I don't know," Gelid said. "Don't get me wrong, Mist - Erhm, Queen Mist, I really do think you'd make a good queen but without Blizzard..."

"It doesn't feel the same," Queen Mist finished. "Would you believe that I understand that."

Gelid took a glance at Swan as he chatted with Hyena. A life as a high ranking icewing was all she wanted she was a dragonet but being there for a substantial amount of time - the gloss had started to wear off, so to speak. And Queen Mist was precise: it didn't feel the same without Blizzard.

"If I can, your majesty, I want to be ousted from the kingdom and my name taken off the rankings. I want to find another place in the world, one I couldn't find before or even dream of finding," Gelid pleaded.

Queen Mist considered it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm certain. This is what I want."

"Seems like the least I can do," said the new queen. "Very well, Gelid, your name will be taken off the rankings. However, if you do wish to return, I'll gladly scratch your name back on myself."

Gelid nodded. That was all she wanted.

And after everything, why wouldn't she want that?

She helped save the world. She traveled all over the continent. She was held in deathly situations more than once.

And now?

She was tired. She wanted some peace and calm, and maybe she'd fulfil that with Swan - that was if he shared the same feelings for her.

 _I've always wanted to follow my dream and be the dragon I've always wanted to be. That was to find the best place for myself in the world but maybe I was never supposed to find my place._

 _Maybe my place is always shifting and never in one place._

 _Maybe my dreams weren't always supposed to be my dreams, like a nightmare will never by my nightmare forever._

 _This is who I am._

 _I am Gelid, a dragon who'll carve my own future with my own claws. An ever-winding future._


	15. Epilogue

Pale looked to the grey sky above, watching as snowflakes begun to fall.

One fell on the tip of his nose and he gazed at it for a moment, admiring the slight edges and differences that separated it from the other snowflakes.

One of a kind, as he always heard. Every snowflake was different.

Then he shook it away, resuming his work.

The adult ranking wall stared back at him and the list of names only called him closer, hoping for it to be their name that he moved. But no, he wasn't moving any names, only scratching on names. One in particular.

Frost.

Still he couldn't believe that Frost was apart of the Talons of Power. It explained his absence at least, from his disappearance and then reappearance on the opposite sides of the battlefield.

"I owe North everything! He saved my life!" Frost said.

"How can you? We were like brothers, Frost!" Pale said to him.

"I'm sorry, Pale, but I have my orders."

Frost had to surrender after Pale had him pinned on the sand - as painful as it was to do even that.

Frost had to be brought back to face justice and for a punishment to be declared upon him by Queen Mist.

Pale never saw Frost again but that was the least of his problems now.

He eyed Frost's name as last in the rankings wall and then turned away, strolling towards the courtyard.

It wasn't just his imagination that the kingdom was quieter than usual. At first, it was glaringly obvious that the icewings paid their respects to the fallen queen, Blizzard, but that a month ago and the kingdom had only grown quieter.

Pale had no idea why but all he could do was keep going.

The courtyard was almost empty when Pale stepped into it. He glanced at all the sides, hoping that an icewing was merely reading a scroll or chatting to another but the only icewing was Queen Mist with a floating moonglobe above her shoulder.

Queen Mist focused her attention on the statue of an icewing that she had carved and finished only a week ago. The statue was tribute to Blizzard, Pale was sure about that. He always knew Mist had a soft interior in contrast to the tough and rough exterior she presented.

Pale used to have a crush on her when they were dragonets but marriages and relationships were always set by the parents or the higher ranking icewings, so he focused on his ranking instead.

He wanted to make his way to the palace library to read and recite scrolls but Queen Mist looked too lonely and too sombre that it was something he couldn't ignore.

If he was lonely, then of course he'd want another dragon to be there for him.

Pale approached her. "Your majesty," he said. Mist offered a quiet glance but then continued to look at the statue. "Quite a grey day, is it not?"

Queen Mist looked up the sky. "Yes, it is." She said and nothing more.

"Is something the matter?" He asked.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "She never got to see the statue."

"It is a magnificent statue. I'm sure she would've loved it. In fact, I'm sure her spirit is still here, smiling at you and the statue."

"If only that was true."

"I think it's very true. Everyday our ancestors look upon us and smile at our marvel." he waved to the sky, briefly imagining spirals of icewing heads. "They smile at all of us."

"Well they've definitely stopped marvelling at me." She shook the small pile of snow off her wings, turned and begun walking into the palace.

There was no doubt that Mist had changed substantially in the last couple of weeks. He noticed her patience grow, or enough to hide any hint of irritation. She had a more neutral expression on her face and a commanding aura around her scales that reminded him of Blizzard when she held the queenship.

Yet, he still sensed some kind of unease and unbalance on her.

Queens held the most power in any kingdom and therefore the most influence. It was blatant that any kingdom benefits from a happier and content queen than one that wasn't, and it was slowly dawning on him that Queen Mist wasn't happy.

If any dragon could change that it would be him.

After quick consideration, Pale joined her, following beside her wings to account her rank distance between him. She was the queen after all. "May I offer my assistance with your next objectives?"

"I'm not doing anything right now," she replied hastily.

"For future endeavours, consider me, your majesty."

A pair of icewings stopped out of the way of Queen Mist and bowed deeply, to which, the queen gave an approving nod and carried on down a hallway.

She gave a quick glance at Pale as he continued to follow and exhaled heavily. "I'm sure whatever I need to do next, I can do it myself."

"With all due respect, I don't think that's the case," Pale said.

Queen Mist paused, her face growing serious with her raising temper. "What?"

He tried not to wince at the sudden shift in tone. "I noticed your adjustment to your new role has...impacted your emotions and judgement when governing the kingdom. I mean no offence."

"Well I _feel_ offended." She turned away. "Leave me alone, Pale, I need time to think. On my own," she added sternly.

"I consider this but this is something to discuss now," he said. "I know you are the queen, now, but as a member of the first circle, I do ask that you may consider my words. At the very least."

Queen Mist sighed and then responded after a long wait. "Very well then, tell me exactly how much I've been yelling at other dragons has impacted their mental instability because I haven't noticed that myself."

"Not at all. You haven't been yelling at all," he said truthfully.

She lifted a brow to that but then recollected her neutral face, grumbling something under her breath. "What is it that you want to discuss?"

"My possible and extending assistance," he said. "Listen, I know being queen was never your goal in mind."

"What gave you that idea?" she muttered.

"But both your father and Blizzard thought highly of you, Blizzard especially. Even I know that you're more than capable of taking leadership into your own talons, formulating the next best step and so on - qualities needed in a queen. You're a commendable dragon by an ocean and I think you're more than capable of leading our tribe," he said.

"Don't hold your breath."

"I don't need to breathe at all, not with you as queen. I'm sure if the other tribe queens suddenly disappeared and it was only you, you'd take great care of everyone, not that I'm saying that should happen."

"That's very...thoughtful of you," she commented in a surprised tone. "But I could never measure up." She quickly destroyed the assurance he made.

He had to try harder. "That's because you're comparing yourself to those before you. They aren't you and you're not them. They lived before, whereas you live now."

Then her face lit up for the first time he'd ever seen. There. That was what he was working for. He searched for that glitter and then mined until he found the shiniest gem he'd ever seen. Her silver irises shone against the dark sea of her eyes like a moon in the night.

Pale fought the urge to suddenly smile and break up the formality he wanted to uphold. "What I'm trying to say is you'll do great because you're different and not because you're the first hybrid queen we've ever had, but because your vast experiences had shaped your outlook and mentality. You offer a greater diversity in opportunities."

She considered this, giving a nod and then a small but glamorous smile. "Perhaps you're right." She begun to walk down the hall but this time, flicking her tail at him and beckoning to follow.

Pale, of course, obeyed and followed her. He guessed she wanted some welcomed company in her usual solitude.

He hummed quietly to himself and then stopped when Queen Mist spoke up after some time.

"I've been thinking, Pale, after all these years, even growing up, I've been a terrible friend to you," she said slowly. "When you've been so supportive of me."

"I tend not to take things personally. Every dragon has their rough patch. They say things they don't mean to say when they're angry. I can't say I haven't done that," he assured.

"But I did mean what I said. That's what I've been doing. Clearly, you never deserved it," she said. "And I've been thinking, if there's any way to make it up for being a terrible princess to you all these years."

"There's no need for that, your majesty!" He promised with a brief laugh and a cheap smile, then thinking of something. "Actually, there might be something," he quickly took back.

"And what's that?" She asked eagerly.

He felt himself become small, looking down at his talons for a short moment and witnessing his heart beat heavily before meeting her eyes. "How about I take you to dinner?" he offered.

Then the unexpected happened.

She said yes.

* * *

Swan winged around a tree, finally spotting his small hut in the distant tree and smiling, heading towards it in the bright light of day.

The hut had to be expanded so it was beginning to look less of a temporary living space to a permanent home in the trees. This was because Gelid started to live with him and he was - simply put - overjoyed.

His recent days involved talking with Gelid until the sun fell, flying together to show her his favourite spots in the rainforest, what fruits not to eat and what they'd do next.

The future.

It was a dream come true for him. Never had he ever thought he'd find a dragon to share a life with - or at least attempt to, and an icewing no less.

That always made him laugh to himself. It was an irony, of course, that he'd fall in love with an icewing.

You see, when Swan was younger, he once overheard someone - his mother or father or perhaps even his grandmother speak of something. He heard that somewhere in his heritage, that he was descended from an icewing prince. It wasn't something he believed at first, it wasn't something he believed at all. Yet, he clearly heard it was true. What he didn't hear was how far in his heritage that icewing was.

Swan always thought that the icewing might've been his grandfather or great-grandfather. But when he finally found the courage, he'd try to ask some icewings that gathered at his performances, only for them to scatter away warily from him, like he was diseased or something.

So he gave up. Clearly no icewings were going to speak to him and he definitely didn't have the courage to ask the icewing queen herself, as nice as he heard she was.

But then Gelid happened. She came to him first. She asked questions to him, about him and then she was stolen away before he had the chance to ask his fabled questions. Of course he'd remember her name and what she looked like, wondering if he'd ever see her again.

And then he did. The next time he saw her was at the nightwing village when he overheard her venture into the dark rainforest with that shifty dark mudwing. He saved her because that was the least he could've done.

He didn't mean to fall in love with her, especially when he found out that she didn't know anything about the previous royal icewings.

No, there was something about her voice, her cold scales and her glittering eyes that he liked and found intriguing.

It was only when she told him (very anxiously) that she had feelings for him that realised that he did as well, for her.

That was then. And now, Swan had a basket in his mouth with a gift he couldn't wait to show Gelid.

He first surveyed the porch outside before landing but it was silent and empty, then he walked into the hut, instantly finding Gelid laying down on the carpet with her head on top of her talons.

From what Gelid told him, icewings in the palace slept on slates of ice, which was one of the most horrible things he could've ever imagined. Why would dragons sleep on that when they could've slept on something soft like a hammock or a proper bed?

Swan didn't understand it but it wasn't something he was about to question needlessly.

He stepped carefully then brought himself to the floor in front of Gelid, dropping the basket into his talon and putting it aside. He nudged her awake, watching as she yawned silently, stretch her talons out and then look at him with a soft gaze.

"You're back," she said. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"I was very eager to come back and show you something." He nodded to the basket, engaging her interest and then picked up a box from it, propping on the floor between them. Tearing the casing with a claw, Swan delicately, took the box apart, revealing a single ceramic pot the size of his talon, with a fireberry bonsai growing firmly.

"You must be joking," Gelid said, sounding both surprised and intrigued. She poked one of the many colourful glowing berries that were no bigger than a dirt spot on a scale.

Swan laughed. "It's a gift from Queen Firefly. Her gardener spent a long time grafting it and cultivating it."

"Grafting?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Taking a cutting from a parent tree and growing it individually."

"Oh. I guess that...but look at it! It's so small! It cannot be used for anything."

"It doesn't have to be used for anything. It's decoration," he said. "I think it's beautiful, like you."

Gelid retracted her smile, looking down to hide her face as she blushed - or at least, it looked like a blush. Her face turned bluer.

Swan only could've guessed how he looked in exchange. If he lacked the basic training to keep his scales in check then he'd turn pink, like Prince Jambu or one of his many sons.

He looked at the desk beside the doorway and wrung his tail at it, curling around the handle of a talon-held mirror and taking it into his talons. It was only small and attached to silver moulded in rings and small swirls.

"Perhaps we should tell Queen Firefly what we think of it. I'm sure she'd appreciate it," he said, then observing Gelid as she stared at the mirror.

"Is...is that a conveyance mirror?" She asked, curious.

He nodded.

"But I thought only the most important dragons had those, not that I mean - um, like delegates."

" _I'm_ important," he said. "Her majesty always likes to know when and where my next shows are."

When she wanted a closer look, Swan carefully gave it to her and she stared into the mirror. "I've always wondered: where did the mirror come from?" She muttered.

"It was Princess Anemone's enchantment, her gift to the entire world."

"She made it? I always thought it was a lost artefact that was dug up in a cave," she said. "But that makes more sense."

"It's a wonder what animus magic can bring."

"Not always good magic, bear in mind," she said.

There was no denying that. After the battle, he heard everything and Gelid told him everything else. She mentioned how North made himself an animus and wanted Mist to become queen of the icewings, to which she did anyway. And how North used his own magic to get revenge on Gelid.

Frankly, Swan didn't understand it. If he had magic then he'd only use it to benefit all the dragons, to make them happier in such a war-torn world.

He sighed. "I know."

* * *

"Tell me _exactly_ how she got out?" Queen Ibis demanded.

She stared at the molten iron bars of the prison. The prison cave system was long and windy, which meant all the distant croaks and yells from the prisoners echoed throughout. It was such a pain in the ear, which was why she almost never came down there herself.

"SHUT UP!" She yelled down the prison. The prisoner's voices abruptly stopped, then accompanied by soft whispers and murmuring. She really wanted to yell again but there was another matter to focus on.

"Um, well, your majesty," said Horsetail. His voice garnered her attention from the noisy prisoners as he skirmishly tried to find some kind of tangible answer. "She must've melted the bars down enough to get out."

"I know that," Ibis said. "What I'm really asking is how? How did she get out without being spotted and where did she go? I have guards patrolling the prison."

"I assume she memorised the pattern of the guards, quietly spat fire on the bars until they melted and slipped out before anyone noticed," he said. "Otherwise, I have no idea."

"Where. Did. She. Go?" Ibis huffed.

Horsetail stepped back. "It may be possible that she found a secret tunnel out," he offered anxiously. "The guards outside didn't see her and she couldn't be hiding in the other cells."

Ibis sighed. She stepped aside, stopping in front of the next prison cell. "You," she said to the light brown mudwing prisoner. "What did you see or hear?"

"Didn't see nothing," said the mudwing, curling her tail around her talons and eyeing Ibis defiantly.

 _That was exactly what got you in here. That attitude_ , Ibis thought. "Tell me right now or it'll be your head on a spike."

The mudwing took that and shuffled to the opposite end the cell. "Nothing! I swear on me life! Nothing! Nothing!" Not that Ibis believed that one bit but it wasn't going anywhere productive.

"Well the moment you-"she turned to the prison and raised her voice for all the dragons to hear"-or ANYONE else suddenly remembers anything about our recent breakout, you'll be rewarded your freedom. Given, what you say will be useful," Ibis said.

"Death to you! Willow promised us all our freedoms!" Said a distant voice.

"Ack. Kill that one," Ibis said. Not a moment later, a guard stormed into the prison and marched down the row of cells to find the voice.

"No! Wait! Wait! I didn't mean it!"

 _Serves you right for disobeying and trying to mock me_. Ibis then turned to Horsetail. "Now, Horsetail."

He jumped suddenly. "Yes your majesty?"

"Tell Eskar to - actually, I can do that. Come with me, I need another voice in another important matter."

Horsetail stepped out of the way as Ibis walked out of the prison, following her outside with guards dotting their path. They stepped out of the way of them, standing upright with their spear beside them.

Ibis tried to acknowledge them but also not, at the same time. She didn't want to spare her attention to them.

"Surely this is the most important problem right now. You need to find Willow-"

"Oh she'll come to me, like the frivolous little rat brain she has. Taking after her sister," Ibis said. "I never knew she had it in her but I guess that's what happens when you think you have all the means in the world to get what you want," she tsked to herself. "How stupid of me."

"I'm sure no one else noticed. I definitely didn't," Horsetail assured.

"How insightful of you. Now, I take that you have heard of the hybrid from our kingdom."

"Oh?" He said, intrigued. "Which one?"

"The nightwing one. The one that goes by the name Lavalicker."

"Um, well now that you speak of it, yes, I do remember."

"Your memory does me a service. You see, his father took something from me that means a great deal. _My_ plans. His father died and I couldn't find the plans off his body. I assume he gave it to the nightwing mother. It was an elaborate plan to stop me. Nightwings were always so cunning."

"But they're all the way in the nightwing village, in the rainforest."

"I know, that's the problem. With them all the way over there, under Firefly's protection, my plans have been halted for a very long time. But recently I've heard Lavalicker has been imprisoned for his involvement in the Talons of Power," Ibis said.

"He could be extradited," Horsetail suggested. "He might be half nightwing but he's also half mudwing. Would that be enough to get him here?"

"That was what I was thinking. Pity, I know convincing Firefly to do just that may be impossible but I think it's worth a try. There's only one copy of the plans and that hybrid is the key to getting it back. Back where it's useful."

"Assuming it still exists, ahem, your majesty."

"Yes, indeed but if those nightwing knows what's good for them then they better still have it. My brother was a top strategist and everything he wrote is in those plans. If he didn't die then I wouldn't have this problem. As, persists."

"When the world works against you, work against it," Horsetail said.

"Indeed, such colourful words of wisdom," she acknowledged. "I'm getting those plans back, sooner or later. I've waited too long for anything else."

"What about the other thing, the alliance with the icewings and seawings?"

"It'll be difficult. Auklet is out of the picture and Anemone has taken the throne. I doubt she'd want anything to do with me," she said. "I was already planning to speak with Blizzard but her niece now has the throne and I hear she has a temper."

"But she's still a queen. She has to consider what you're proposing."

Ibis nodded. "Good thinking. I'm glad I have you around. One problem at a time though. Right now, I have my ludicrous daughter running around somewhere and a batch of plans I need."

* * *

Right now, Coast was disguised as a sandwing guard with only one opportunity to do what he needed to do.

He observed the trial room from the main entrance. A falling sun and pink sky painted the thin, long windows along the walls.

At the other end were dragon delegates from the different tribes, hiding behind wooden lectures as if they were invincible.

They were soon to contest the fate of Queen Auklet, which he had to stop.

Then there were two panels of juries, one of either side and tucked to the wall so that they could all stare down at the dragon in trial - like Auklet soon would be. But among those dragons was a skywing that shared Coast's intention to save Auklet.

He watched the red skywing in the middle of the distant jury audience until the skywing caught him staring. He nodded and the skywing nodded back, then turning away.

An eternity later, the doors flung open and a trio of sandwing guards dumped a green seawing wrapped in chains in the middle of the room.

That seawing was Auklet and it made his stomach churn just seeing her like that.

The guards then stepped away, one walked closer to Coast but glanced at him and backed off, choosing a spot at the other end by the judges. The other two proceeded to stand in front of the furthest jury audience and the front row dragons had to turn their head around to take a glimpse at Auklet.

He needed to wait until the dragons in the room settled.

"Dragons of the court," said the skywing judge at the centre lecturn. He tapped the wood with a claw, gathering the nearby dragons' attention. "We have been assembled here today on the premise of evaluating the crimes of the seawing, Auklet, and dictate her punishment, as fair as possible."

The skywing had a slow presence around him, like a sea slug journeying across a seabed.

"For fair examination, all seawing personnel have and will continue to be forbidden from entering this court room apart for the seawing in question. We will not have corrupt subjective manners interfering with this," continued the skywing in a slow voice.

 _Fair? How is this fair? You strip the pride tribe of the seawings from their rightful queen, now you don't give them a say,_ Coast thought. I _intend to._

"All who agree to say aye."

"Aye," echoed the dragons in the jury.

"Good." The skywing turned to address the nightwing next to him. "Truthcatcher will now relay the alleged crimes of Auklet the seawing, so that the jury may consider this."

Truthcatcher cleared her throat and unfurled a scroll on the lecture, poking the parchment with a claw to keep it steady. She begun to list the crimes, starting with "Evident association with the terrorist organisation..."

That filled his stomach with boiling water and he wanted to rush over to the nightwing and gouge her eyes out for being so wrong.

Instead, he kept himself still, not liking every second he spent in this room.

He turned to the same skywing in the jury, waiting until they saw each other. He loosened a wing, pointing it closer to the floor and the skywing nodded, soon rising and spreading his wings.

"Objection!" Said the skywing. "This ordeal is preposterous!"

The old skywing judge gave a surprised look, then waving his talon in an attempt to hush.

"Nolliganting finkoshibble! This is stupid! You're ALL stupid!" Shouted the skywing, then leaping from his seat and towards the judges.

That was when everything went loose. Dragons from the jury rushed from their seats as the rogue skywing started to fight the guards and the judges were stuck in their seats.

That was when Coast grabbed hold of Auklet's tail and yanked her away, storming out the door before anyone would've noticed, all the while feeling Auklet struggle from the clashing chains.

He dragged her into another room and sealed the doors, briefly pressing his ear to the door to hear. Sounds of dragons shouting and fighting came from afar but that didn't mean he was going to be safe for long.

A single window in the room told him that the sun was rapidly falling.

So he went over to Auklet and pulled the chains from around her snout loose.

"Get away from me!" Auklet snapped at him and he stepped back.

There was a necklace around his neck that he then pulled over his neck and dropped on the floor, watching Auklet and her fallen jaw.

"Coast?" She asked him. "What in the blue blazes - but there was a sandwing where - what?"

Coast looked gazed down his talon, seeing his light blue scales. It felt better being a seawing again, that was for sure. "It's me. Sorry, my love, it was the only way to get you out of there," he said to her.

"Oh, I see," she glimpsed at the necklace. "Thank goodness you revealed yourself or I would've killed you!"

 _She's fine_ , Coast thought to himself. "Let's get you out of those." He returned, rolling the chains off both his wings and then helping her get the chains from around her talons.

Auklet stretched her talons and wings one by one, then flicked her tail around the room, knocking over a table. "Great, now what?" She asked him.

"Now we reroute with the others," he said.

"Others? Who else is with you, my love?"

"Yellowfin was the skywing in the room. The loud one. He knows the plan and he'll meet us when he knows it's safe. Bluefin and Turquoise are waiting for us by the stream outside. Hadal and Glow are at our new hideout, waiting for all of us to return."

"Great, where, exactly?"

"In the mountains, the quiet ones. Come on." He unsealed the door, checking the hallway twice before easing into it and dashing down. He still heard the commotion in the trial room and could only hope Yellowfin would make it out safely.

Auklet ran up beside him. "Why did you come for me? You could've been halfway across the ocean by now."

"Because we all agreed on one thing."

"And what's that?"

"That you're our queen and we're going to help you get your throne back."


End file.
